May 16, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
media@aclu.org NEW YORK -
The New York Civil Liberties Union today released approximately 600 pages of
NYPD intelligence documents that detail a major and often unlawful NYPD
political surveillance operation of political activity preceding the 2004
Republican National Convention.
"These documents paint a picture
of a surveillance program that was broad, clumsy, and often unlawful," said
Donna Lieberman, NYCLU Executive Director. "The NYPD failed to differentiate
between unlawful behavior and behavior that is not only lawful but should in
fact be cherished and protected. Today the public can finally bear witness to
that failure."
The NYCLU released the documents after New York
City abandoned an effort to keep them secret in the face of a May 4 ruling by
federal Judge James Francis IV that the documents should not be kept under
wraps. The documents released today, and Judge Francis's decision of last
week, are available online at
www.nyclu.org/rncdocs The
NYCLU, which obtained the documents as part of lawsuits it filed against the
NYPD for actions during the convention, had filed a challenge to the city's
claim that the documents had to be kept confidential. Lawyers for the city
informed the judge and the NYCLU last night that the city would not appeal Judge
Francis's ruling.
The documents show that NYPD officers
infiltrated political meetings and monitored listservs for years before the
Republican National Convention, often recording information about activity that
was completely peaceful and lawful.
Lawyers who worked to
challenge the city's secrecy claims include NYCLU Associate Legal Director
Christopher Dunn and NYCLU staff attorney Palyn Hung.
Now that the
documents are public they will also be subject to close scrutiny by the
attorneys on the long-standing federal case Handschu v. Special Services
Division. That case has resulted in a series of court orders regulating police
surveillance of political demonstrations and activities.
