The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a 7-2 decision that information related to torture at CIA “black sites” is protected under secret state secrecy, which allows the Government to prohibit disclosure of information when it would jeopardize National Security. Between December 2003 and September 2004, defendant Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn (Zubaydah), a Pakistani national, was detained at a CIA “black site” in Poland on suspicion of possible links to Al Qaeda. CIA contractors put him through an “enhanced interrogation” program that included waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and confinement in cramped conditions. In 2010, Zubaydah, now detained at Guantánamo Bay, filed a criminal complaint in Poland to hold accountable the Poles who had contributed to his torture. To aid in this investigation, Zubaydah filed a discovery request in federal court to subpoena the two contractors who oversaw the interrogation. In response, the government claimed that complying with Zubaydah’s request would force them to confirm the location of the site. The government claimed that this was an admission that would undermine national security by diminishing international confidence in the CIA’s ability to keep information confidential. Adopting a broad standard of deference, the majority ruled against the request. In an opinion written by Justice Breyer, the court held that the government had “provided a reasonable explanation as to why [the contractors’] confirmation or denial of the information Zubaydah seeks could significantly harm national security interests.” Judge Gorsuch, joined by Judge Sotomayor, issued a dissent in which he criticized excessive withholding of inside government information. Instead, he advocated a higher level of scrutiny for such matters. Furthermore, the dissent noted that the location of the CIA facility in question is publicly known with or without the petitioner’s confirmation. Dismissing the request on these grounds denies Zubaydah information about the other aspects of his discovery request, which Gorsuch said was more central to his case anyway. The court’s decision is likely to make it easier for the government to withhold information as state secrets. privilege.