A US federal judge ordered the release of dozens more pictures of prisoners being abused at Abu Ghraib.
US District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein rejected government arguments that the images would provoke terrorists and incite violence against US troops in Iraq
He said yesterday that terrorists "do not need pretexts for their barbarism" and that suppressing the pictures would amount to submitting to blackmail.
Judge Hellerstein ordered the release of 74 pictures and three videotapes from the Abu Ghraib prison, potentially opening the military up to more embarrassment from a scandal that stirred outrage around the world last year when photos of 2003 abuse became public.
The photographs covered by yesterday's ruling were taken by a soldier. A military policeman who saw them turned them over to the army.
The American Civil Liberties Union sought release of the photographs and videotapes as part of an October 2003 lawsuit demanding information on the treatment of detainees in US custody and the transfer of prisoners to countries known to use torture.
The ACLU contends that prisoner abuse is systemic.
The US government had argued America's enemies might exploit the pictures for propaganda purposes by saying the photos represent the attitudes of all Americans toward the Iraqi people.
The judge acknowledged such a risk but said "the education and debate that such publicity will foster will strengthen our purpose, and . . . show our strength as a vibrant and functioning democracy to be emulated."