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DOJ seeks stay on naming detainees

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Citing what it says would be "irreparable harm" to the investigation of the September 11 attacks, the Justice Department has filed a motion for an expedited stay pending appeal of last week's order that the government identify certain individuals detained in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled last Friday that the government must identify within 15 days the names of everyone "arrested and detained in connection with its September 11, 2001, terrorist investigations." The government says about 700 people have been detained because they were subject to detention under immigration laws.

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In her order, Kessler wrote, "The government's only response is that it cannot 'rule out' possible connections to terrorism for every detainee and that 'dire consequences' ... would flow from one unnecessary disclosure. ...The government's response is flawed, legally and factually."

But in the motion for a stay of that order, government lawyers led by Assistant Attorney General Robert McCallum Jr. wrote that if the government must release the names of those detained in the terrorism investigation, it would "enable those who planned the September 11 terror attacks and their followers to map the nature, extent and direction of the government's investigation."

The government's motion for a stay goes on to say that "in light of the gravity of the risk, prudence counsels that a stay be issued to protect the public until the issues have been fully litigated through the appellate process." The government has filed a notice of appeal.

David Sobel, legal counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said last week that the government's appeal was likely.

Who brought the lawsuit

The American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International USA, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Center for National Security Studies and others had filed the lawsuit seeking disclosure of the names.

At the time of the court filing in October 2001, the government had detained 751 people on immigration violations; none of their names has been made public, although 677 of them have been released or deported.

In addition, there were 129 people detained on federal criminal charges related to the September 11 investigation. As of mid-June, 73 remained in custody. All but one of their names have been made public.

Kessler's ruling does not affect prisoners held at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, suspected of supporting the Taliban regime that was ousted as part of a U.S. anti-terrorist push after the attacks of September 11.