blocking access to files and ORG_REQ_URI

[tatsuhi]

I am trying to block access to a directory containing files which I want to use internal redirect to deliver.

I tried placing this line in the rewrite rules for the Rails virtual host:

RewriteCond %{ORG_REQ_URI} ^/aaadownloads/
RewriteRule ^/aaadownloads/ - [R=403,F]

But it appears to do nothing. The files are still displayed or missing files show a 404.

I also tried turning on .htaccess overrides (for FileInfo) for the server, virtual host, and rails context, and putting that rule in a .htaccess in the directory - but it has no effect either.

Any ideas?
Or is there a way to use internal redirect without placing the files in a publicly accessible directory (even with the rewrite rule I'm a little afraid to put that in public)...

Thanks for any help