NEW YORK (AP) -- A federal judge, ruling on a lawsuit filed by The Associated Press, came a step closer Wednesday to forcing the government to reveal the names of hundreds of Guantanamo Bay detainees by rejecting its contention that identifying them would violate their privacy.
The some 500 prisoners at the U.S. prison camp in eastern Cuba have been held for several years without being publicly identified, which has troubled human rights groups. Most have not been charged.
U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff said in his ruling that the government had not backed up its claim that prisoners faced retaliation by terrorist groups if their identities became known.
''The Department of Defense has failed to come forward on this motion with anything but thin and conclusory speculation to support its claims of possible retaliation,'' Rakoff wrote.
The AP filed its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of Defense to have government documents related to military hearings for Guantanamo Bay detainees made public.
Details here from the AP via the New York Times.