Judge orders release of Abu Ghraib prison pictures

Saying the US “does not surrender to blackmail,” a judge in New York ruled today that pictures of detainee abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison must be released over government claims that they could damage America’s image.

US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered the release of certain pictures in a 50-page decision that said terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan have proven they “do not need pretexts for their barbarism.”