US judge rejects plea for releasing bin Laden photos

US District Court Judge James Boasberg rejected a lawsuit seeking to force disclosure of the images, writing that the courts must defer to the conclusion President Barack Obama and military leaders reached that releasing them could spur violence against US troops and other Americans travelling abroad, Politico reported.

Judicial Watch, a government watchdog had asked the Defence Department and CIA to release any photos or video footage of the May 2 operation that killed bin Laden.

Though the Defence Department said it found no pictures or videos sought by the group, the CIA said it found 52 such records but refused to release them.

CIA cited exemptions to the US Freedom of Information Act law for classified materials and other reasons. And Judicial Watch then approached the court.

"A picture may be worth a thousand words. And perhaps moving pictures bear an even higher value. Yet, in this case, verbal descriptions of the death and burial of Osama Bin Laden will have to suffice, for this Court will not order the release of anything more," Boasberg wrote in a 29-page ruling issued yesterday.