June 3 (Bloomberg) -- The Defense Department must black out the faces of Iraqi detainees depicted in some previously unreleased photos from Abu Ghraib prison chronicling abuse at the hands of U.S. soldiers, a federal judge ruled.

The judge's ruling, while it doesn't specifically say that the photos will eventually be publicly released, agrees with the position of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is seeking the disclosure of the images.

The decision follows a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the ACLU, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights seeking public disclosure of materials concerning the treatment of detainees at U.S. bases in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the ACLU said in statement posted on its Web site.

The April 2004 release of images showing U.S. guards abusing and humiliating prisoners caused widespread shock and outrage in the Arab world and internationally. U.S. lawmakers brought military commanders before congressional hearings to explain the abuse, which they described as rogue behavior that violated military standards.

The government has argued that the release of the materials would violate U.S. obligations under the Geneva Conventions, rules on the treatment of enemy prisoners written in the wake of World War II. The plaintiffs argued that this obligation could be fulfilled by obscuring the faces of the victims, erasing any privacy concerns. The court agreed with that position.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein ordered the government to conceal the faces of detainees captured in some of the 144 photographs by June 30, and provide an estimate of the length of time needed to protect the identities of detainees shown in four videos by June 10, according to the court order.

To contact the reporter on this story: Todd Zeranski in New York at tzeranski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 3, 2005 11:53 EDT