Italian Papers Publish Torture Photos

Italian newspapers La Repubblica and Il Corriere della Sera have published disturbing photographs depicting prisoner abuse. The papers allege that the pictures show American soldiers torturing terrorism suspects, though it is not clear whether these are among the photos whose release is being challenged by President Obama. The pictures published by the Italian papers have been in the public domain since at least early 2006, when they were used in a documentary by the Australian television series SBS Dateline. They were also published at that time on the website The Raw Story. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain video and photographs depicting the harsh interrogation techniques—considered by many to be torture—used by the U.S. military in Guantanamo Bay and other detention facilities. President Obama has refused to release them, fearing they endanger American troops abroad. WARNING: Link contains graphic images.