Washington: The United States (US) government on Thursday refused to release images taken after the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as they still might lead to violence.
A federal appeals court heard arguments in a lawsuit over whether the government must release the images under the Freedom of Information Act, a 1966 law that guarantees public access to some government records.
“They’ll be used to inflame tensions. They’ll be used to inspire retaliatory attacks,” US Justice Department lawyer Robert Loeb told the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Riots or other forms of violence could threaten American soldiers as well as civilians in Afghanistan, Loeb said.
The government has 52 photographs or videos – the medium has not been revealed – from the May 2011 raid in which US Navy SEALs killed bin Laden after more than a decade of searching. The images show a dead bin Laden at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, the transportation of his body to a US ship and his burial at sea, the government has said.
A decision from the appeals court is likely in the next few months. A lower court judge sided with the government in April.
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