Ctr. for Constitutional Rights v. CIA, 765 F.3d 161 (2d Cir. 2014) (Cabranes, J.)

Ctr. for Constitutional Rights v. CIA, 765 F.3d 161 (2d Cir. 2014) (Cabranes, J.)

Re: Request for images and videos of detainee held at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

Disposition: Affirming district court's grant of defendant's motion for summary judgment

• Exemption 1:  The court holds that "the Responsive Records were properly classified under Executive Order 13,526, and are therefore exempt from disclosure pursuant to FOIA Exemption 1."  The court "conclude[s] that the record of this case establishes, at a minimum, a reasonable possibility that the government's release of these images of al-Qahtani, in the context of what is already publicly known about him, would be singularly susceptible to use by extremist groups to incite anti-American hostility."  "That, in turn, could reasonably be expected to damage the national security of the United States."  However, the court also states that "[w]e do not now hold that every image of a specifically identifiable detainee is exempt from disclosure pursuant to FOIA, nor do we hold that the government is entitled to withhold any documents that may reasonably incite anti-American sentiment."