WASH INGTON A conservative public interest group has sued the US government to release Osama bin Laden death photos and videos. According to Tom Fitton, president of the Judicial Watch, the release of the images from the Navy SEALs raid on bin Ladens Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound are in the public interest. The group filed the lawsuit in the federal court in Washington under the Freedom of Information Act against the Department of Defence. President Obama announced last week that he would not release the photos of bin Laden, citing the importance of making sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool. In the wake of that decision, a number of groups - including CBS News, the Associated Press, NPR, Politico and Citizens United, as well as Judicial Watch - filed FOIA requests for the images. According to Judicial Watch, the the Department of Defence tacitly rejected the groups request in a letter dated May 9, citing an inability to make a release determination within the time constraints dictated by FOIA.