US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has blocked the release of new photographs showing prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq being abused by their Americans captors.
Gates said that public disclosure of the photos would endanger US citizens, US armed forces, and employees of the US government deployed outside the US.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had sued for the release of 21 color photos under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Obama administration filed a brief with the Supreme Court late Friday saying that Gates has invoked new powers blocking the release of the photos.
Federal courts had rejected the government’s arguments to block their release, so Congress gave Gates new powers to keep them private under a law signed by President Barack Obama last month.
