US government turns over new Abu Ghraib photo

WASHINGTON, Apr 11 (Reuters) A civil liberties group today released a single photograph provided by the Pentagon of detainees at Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison and the government authenticated for the first time 73 other Abu Ghraib images already seen around world.

The government also told a federal court it has decided to withhold another 29 photographs and two videos relating to detainee treatment but did not specify their content or whether they were taken in Iraq or elsewhere.

The new image released by the government showed two men clad in orange jumpsuits standing side by side, with their faces obscured to prevent identification. It was turned over to the American Civil Liberties Union as part of its continuing Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking material on detainee-related issues.

It is posted on the ACLU Web site at www.aclu.org/safefree/torture/24982res20060411.html.

The government authenticated 73 other photographs and three videotapes as material provided to Army authorities by the US soldier who first disclosed the abuse. These images previously were published by the online magazine Salon.com.

''This is clearly a victory for the public's right to know what its government is up to,'' said ACLU lawyer Amrit Singh.

''The photographs authenticated by the government shed light not only on the command failures associated with the widespread abuse of detainees but also on aspects of the abuse that can be related to interrogation techniques such as the removal of clothing that were authorized by high-ranking officials.'' US District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein last year ruled that the Pentagon must release the Abu Ghraib photos and videos, turning aside the military's argument that releasing them would endanger US troops.

The government appealed but after Salon.com posted numerous pictures and videos from Abu Ghraib, the government last month agreed to the release.

The photos included the scenes of detainees being physically abused and sexually humiliated sparked international condemnation of the United States. Some of them were widely published in media around the world without authorization from the Pentagon.

Abu Ghraib images first surfaced in April 2004. The REUTERS DH BD0125