| | CIA destroyed 12 tapes showing 'enhanced interrogation methods'
 The American Civil Liberties Union has received new information about 92 interrogation videotapes which were previously revealed to have been destroyed by the CIA.
Documents provided on Friday to a federal court in New York indicated that twelve of the 92 tapes depicted "enhanced interrogation methods." Ninety of those tapes showed one detainee and the other two a second detainee. However, the inventory of the tapes was almost entirely redacted.
"The government is needlessly withholding information about these tapes from the public, despite the fact that the CIA’s use of torture -- including waterboarding -- is no secret," ACLU staff attorney Amrit Singh complained. "This new information only underscores the need for full and immediate disclosure of the CIA’s illegal interrogation methods."
In December 2007, the ACLU filed a motion -- which is stil pending -- to hold the CIA in contempt for its destruction of the tapes in violation of a court order to produce or identify all records that had been requested by the ACLU. The tapes were also withheld from the 9/11 Commission.
The government has now promised to release additional information about the tapes by March 20. According to a letter sent to the court by two assistant US Attorneys, "Point 2 requires the production of a 'list of any summaries, transcripts, or memoranda regarding the records, and of any reconstruction of the records' content. The CIA will complete this list on or before March 20, 2009. On that same date, the CIA will provide a public version of the list to the Court and Plaintiffs and, if necessary to explain fully the records at issue, will make available a classified version for the Court's ex parte, in camera review."
A copy of the government's letter to the court is available at: www.aclu.org/torturefoia/released/030609/hellerstein_letter.pdf
A copy of the redacted videotape inventory is available at: www.aclu.org/torturefoia/released/030609/videotape_inventory.pdf
A redacted description of the tapes is available at: www.aclu.org/torturefoia/released/030609/paragraph_77.pdf
The ACLU's contempt motion and related legal documents are available online at: www.aclu.org/torturefoia
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