Abu Ghraib - The Sequel

If you have access to LinkTV, be sure to catch Abu Ghraib - The Sequel. It's the same program that was aired on SBS Dateline in Australia on February 14th. It airs tonight at 4:00 pm and 10:00 pm PST and several more times over the coming weeks. You can also read the transcript or stream the show:

These new images reveal further widespread abuse including new incidents of apparent torture and sexual humiliation. The extent of the abuse shown in the photos suggests that the abuse that occurred at Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 is much worse than previously reported.

When the original Abu Ghraib photographs were leaked to the press in 2004, members of the U.S, Congress were given a private viewing of additional photographs and videotapes including the images which appear in this Dateline program, according to the producers. The images shown to Congress were not released to the public, reportedly due to the fear that the release of these images showing American military personnel and contractors would inflame passions in the Middle East. Despite the currently heated international climate, the Dateline producers in Australia decided to air this footage now because they believe it conveys the extent of the horror that occurred at Abu Ghraib.

Since the 2004 leak, the ACLU has sued the Department of Defense for withholding photographs and videos depicting abuse at Abu Ghraib and other detention facilities. In September 2005, a federal judge in New York ruled that the government must turn over the Abu Ghraib images, as well as other visual evidence of abuse, noting "the freedoms that we champion are as important to our success in Iraq and Afghanistan as the guns and missiles with which our troops are armed." The decision is currently on appeal by the government. The ACLU said it does not know whether the new photos aired by the Australian Dateline program are the same photos being withheld by the government.