Judge denies request to release photos of dead Bin Laden

Frederic J. Frommer, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A federal judge has denied a request seeking photos and video taken of Osama bin Laden during and after a raid in which he was killed by U.S. commandos last year.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg denied the Freedom of Information Act request by the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch on Thursday. He wrote that he would not substitute his own judgment about the national security risks in releasing the records for those of the executive branch who said they should remain classified.

Boasberg said that the Defence Department didn't turn up anything responsive to the FOIA, while the CIA found 52 records. The agency withheld all of them, citing exemptions for classified materials and information specifically exempted by other laws.