After September 11, 2001, U.S. officials authorized the cruel treatment and torture of prisoners held in Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo, and the CIA's secret prisons overseas.

This database documents the U.S. government's official experiment with torture. At present, the database contains well over 100,000 pages of government documents obtained primarily through Freedom of Information Act litigation and requests filed by the ACLU, and through litigation of Salim v. Mitchell, a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of the survivors and the family of a dead victim of the CIA torture program. To learn more about the database, please read the About and Search Help pages. If you're a developer, you can also access this data through our API.

Search Result (34)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
May 26, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3832
Roundtable interview with Secretary of State, Colin L. Powell. On May 26. 2004, Mr. Powell answered a series of questions from journalists regarding allegations of detainee abuse in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.
Dec. 30, 2004
Other
Frank E. Schmelzer , Antonio Taguba, Colin L. Powell, Richard Green Lugar, Tom Lantos, Henry J. Hyde, George W. Bush, Condoleeza Rice, Richard B. Cheney, Donald H. Rumsfeld, John D. Ashcroft
July 20, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3852
Emails discuss the House Representative request to the Attorney General to transmit documents in his possession relating to the treatment of prisoners and detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
JoAnn J. Dolan
Joshua L. Dorosin | Peter N. Petrihos
JoAnn J. Dolan, Peter N. Petrihos, Edward R. Cummings, Joshua L. Dorosin, Monica J. Tillery, Frank E. Schmelzer , John Conyers, Jr., Dave Obey, Nancy Pelosi, Steny H. Hoyer, James E. Clyburn, Charles D. Rangel, Henry A. Waxman, Isaac Newton Skelton IV, Tom Lantos, Maurice D. Hinchey, John D. Ashcroft
Sept. 26, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3876
Letter from the Bruce Donahue to John Evans, Mike Morrow, Gladys Boluda re: Attached the Procuracy General's response on GTMO detainees. We have included an informal translation. Points to Note: The letter names eight rather than seven ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Bruce Donahue
John Evans | Mike Morrow | Gladys Boluda
John D. Ashcroft
Oct. 15, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4134
Email from Gilda M. Brancato to Ed Cummings forwarding Reuters artcile re: French detainees at Guantanamo complaining of psychological torture. No comments on email.
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Gilda M. Brancado
Edward R. Cummings
Monica J. Tillery, Edward R. Cummings, Gilda M. Brancato, John D. Ashcroft
Mourad Benchellali, Khaled Ben Mustafa, Nizar Sassi, Ridouane Khalid, Ahmad Abd al Rahman Ahmad
Non-US | ACLU-RDI 4316
Letter from Lawyers Against Torture to President George W. Bush re" Lawyer's Statement on Bush Administration's Torture Memos stating that the torture memoranda circumvent long established and universally acknowledged principles of law and common ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Letter
George W. Bush | Richard B. Cheney | Donald H. Rumsfeld | Ashley A. Larsen
George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Richard B. Cheney, John D. Ashcroft
June 25, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3095
FBI Emails between Valerie E. Caproni, Chris Swecker and Others concerning reports of abuse of detainees at Guantanamo and the scheduled interview of a specific (un-named) detainee who is considered a High Value target. Many of the emails in the ...
Dec. 15, 2004
Email
Valerie E. Caproni
Chris Swecker | Joseph R. Lewis | Marion E. Bowman | John S. Pistole | Gary M. Bald | Eleni P. Kalisch | John F. Curran | Michael T. Roachford | David Szady
Robert A. Spencer, Bruce Swartz, Laura H. Parsky, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Robert S. Mueller, John D. Ashcroft, John F. Curran, Marion E. Bowman, Valerie E. Caproni
July 26, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3125

Emails between Patrick W. Kelley, Valerie E. Caproni, John F. Curran and Others re: US DOJ Executive Secretariat correspondence. Urges the AG to do all he can to ensure regular unrestricted access by the International Committee of the Red ...

Dec. 15, 2004
Email
Patrick W. Kelley
Valerie E. Caproni | John F. Curran | Marion E. Bowman | Thomas J. Harrington | Bruce J. Gebhardt | John S. Pistole
Patrick W. Kelley, Valerie E. Caproni, John F. Curran, Marion E. Bowman, Thomas J. Harrington, Jonathan I. Solomon, John S. Pistole, Maureen Baginski, Grant Ashley, Gary M. Bald, Eleni P. Kalisch, Glenn A. Fine, John D. Ashcroft, Chris Swecker, Bruce J. Gebhardt
July 29, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3130
Emails between Patrick W. Kelley, John F. Curran, Valerie E. Caproni and Others re: Confidential memo from Colin L. Powell regarding the transfer of Guantanamo detainees with habeas corpus proceedings pending. The confidential memo from the ...
Dec. 15, 2004
Non-legal Memo, Email
Patrick W. Kelley, John F. Curran, Valerie E. Caproni, Marion E. Bowman, Anne M. Gulyassy, James A. McAtamney, Colin L. Powell, John D. Ashcroft, Bruce J. Gebhardt, Thomas J. Harrington
Dec. 13, 2001 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 3208
This is a letter from an attorney representing a person detained by the U.S. to FBI Director Robert Mueller. In the letter the attorney states that he has reached out to DOD General Counsel William Hayne and Attorney General Ashcroft concerning ...
Dec. 15, 2004
Letter
Robert S. Mueller
William J. Haynes, II, Donald H. Rumsfeld, John D. Ashcroft, Robert S. Mueller
June 14, 2004 | ACLU-RDI 3226

Letter from Michael Posner, the Executive Director of Human Rights First to Attorney General John Ashcroft. The letter requests information on the investigation of those who reportedly committed acts of torture to hold them legally responsible ...

Dec. 15, 2004
Letter
Michael Posner
John D. Ashcroft
John D. Ashcroft