WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The Defense Department will release `` a substantial number '' of photographs showing abuse of prisoners at prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan , according to the American Civil Liberties Union . Aggressive techniques to interrogate terror suspects are making headlines again . The release will be in response to an open-records lawsuit filed by the ACLU , the group said in a written statement . The statement released late Thursday said the photos were taken at facilities other than Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq . `` These photographs provide visual proof that prisoner abuse by U.S. personnel was not aberrational but widespread , reaching far beyond the walls of Abu Ghraib , '' Amrit Singh , an ACLU attorney , said in the release . The photos are to be released by May 28 , the ACLU said . The Department of Defense announced in a letter addressed to the federal court on Thursday that it would release the photos . In a copy of the letter posted on the ACLU 's Web site , acting U.S. Attorney Lev L. Dassin said that 21 photographs would be released and that the government `` also is processing for release a substantial number of other images . '' The lawsuit was filed in 2004 after the Bush administration denied a 2003 open-records request by the ACLU . The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled last year that the photos should be released . The Defense Department will not appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court , Dassin said in the letter . Attempts by CNN to reach the White House and Department of Defense for comment were not immediately successful .
Photos showing abuse of prisoners in Iraq , Afghanistan to be released , ACLU says . ACLU filed lawsuit in 2004 against Bush administration for access to photos . Defense Department says it will not appeal court ruling , will release pictures . ACLU : Pictures , taken at facilities other than Abu Ghraib , to be released by May 28 .