Rights groups sue US over prisoner abuse
Reuters, New York
Civil-rights and veterans groups on Wednesday sued the US government for what they said was illegally withholding records about American military abuse of prisoners held in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and other locations. The suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, charges that the US departments of Defence, Homeland Security, Justice and State have failed to comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by the groups last year. Other defendants in the suit include the FBI and CIA. The plaintiffs are seeking records documenting torture and abuse which they said has occurred since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. They said that after they filed the FOIA request in October, numerous news stories and photographs have documented mistreatment of prisoners held in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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