© Jeff Fusco / Agence France Press /File PhotoOccupy Philly protesters march through the streets after they were ordered from their tent encampment near City Hall in the early hours of November 30, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The FBI, CIA and NSA must release any potential evidence that they spied on Occupy Philadelphia protesters back in 2011,
a federal judge has reportedly ruled in a "right-to-know" case against the government. The agencies have about a month to comply.
Senior US District Judge Berle Schiller has
ordered documents as well as any records to be turned over no later than early next year. In case the agencies believe that this information should not be publicly disclosed, they must also provide justification of that.
Judge Schiller's decision as to whether the evidence would then be released publicly heavily depends on what he receives from both the CIA and NSA. Before any subsequent ruling, he will have to go through the documents to determine whether those documents, if any, should be released.
"It is important that this tool of transparency sheds light on the secrets of government," said Paul J. Hetznecker, the attorney representing Occupy Philadelphia demonstrators.
"The government should not be investigating its citizens simply because they've raised their voices in dissent, whether it's against government or corporate policy."In his court filings, Hetznecker cited revelations from Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, about the agency's mass surveillance programs as well as news reports detailing CIA involvement in the New York Police Department's surveillance of Muslim religious groups between 2002 and 2011. These led him to believe that the CIA and NSA were monitoring Americans' political and personal activities.
Comment: US dismissed its war crimes as "inappropriate." Two hundred 'inappropriate" investigations of detainee abuse is not trivial.