A federal appeals court has ruled that the government can keep secret the identities of detainees allegedly abused at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued the ruling Monday, reversing a lower court judge.

The appeals court found that the detainees and their families have a privacy interest in their identifying information. The government had argued that the detainees faced possible harm if their identities were revealed.

The appeals court said that The Associated Press, which sought the identities, had not shown how the public interest would be served by disclosing them.

A lawyer for the AP said he would comment after he studies the ruling.