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 (54)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
July 20, 2007 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4552

An OLC memo addressing whether the CIA may use 6 "enhanced interrogation techniques" in the interrogation of high value detainees: (1) dietary manipulation, (2) extended sleep deprivation, (3) facial hold, (4) attention grasp, (5) ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Steven G. Bradbury, John McCain, Duncan Lee Hunter, Patrick Leahy, Jesse Francis Bingaman, Jr., Hillary Clinton, John Warner, Richard J. Durbin, Christopher H. Shays, Patrick Philbin, Michael Hayden, Condoleeza Rice, Antonio Taguba
Abd al Hadi al Iraqi, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Jose Padilla, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri
EIT, SERE, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Assault/death, Use of electricity, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Nudity, Sexual, Use of water, Threat, Other Humiliation
Dec. 01, 2004 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 4587

A fax (sent January 15, 2005) from the CIA to the OLC of the December 2004 OMS Guidelines on Medical and Psychological Support to Detainee Rendition, Interrogation, and Detention. The document is heavily redacted but describes the enhanced ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Non-legal Memo, Medical (Psychological)
Daniel B. Levin
Daniel B. Levin
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Forced grooming
Dec. 03, 2014 | Legislative | ACLU-RDI 5935
In March 2009, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence decided to initiate a review of the CIA’s detention and interrogation program. On December 13, 2012 the Committee voted to approve its Study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention ...
Apr. 08, 2009
Oversight Report
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Website
John Helgerson, Alberto Gonzalez, David Addington, Bruce Jessen, James Mitchell , Steven Bradbury, Jose Rodriguez, Rizzo, Condoleezza Rice, Richard B. Cheney, George Bush, John Ashcroft, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, William "Jim" Haynes, John Yoo, Jay Bybee
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Other, Physical assault, General, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Sexual, Threat, Assault/death, Mock Burial, Rendition, Family/others, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Forced grooming, Forced physical training
DOJ-OIG | ACLU-RDI 5968
A DOJ-OIG questionnaire for FBI personnel who were involved in detainee interview or interrogations at assigned locations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Iraq; Afghanistan; or in other areas controlled by the U.S. Military. Questionnaire primarily ...
Apr. 03, 2009
Interview (Questionnaire)
Physical assault, Sexual, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other
DOJ-OIG | ACLU-RDI 5961
A DOJ-OIG questionnaire for FBI personnel who were involved in detainee interview or interrogations at assigned locations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Iraq; Afghanistan; or in other areas controlled by the U.S. Military. Questionnaire primarily ...
Apr. 03, 2009
Interview (Questionnaire)
Physical assault, General, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Other
DOJ-OIG | ACLU-RDI 5960
A DOJ-OIG questionnaire for FBI personnel who were involved in detainee interview or interrogations at assigned locations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Iraq; Afghanistan; or in other areas controlled by the U.S. Military. Questionnaire primarily ...
Apr. 03, 2009
Interview (Questionnaire)
Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, General, Threat, Assault/death, Rendition, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Other
Sept. 15, 2005 | CID | ACLU-RDI 4536

An investigation into alleged aggravated assault, cruelty, and maltreatment of an Iraqi prisoner by U.S. forces.  The detainee stated that he was held at the "Disco" (a detention facility in Mosul, Iraq) for approximately one ...

Nov. 05, 2008
Investigative File (CID)
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, General, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Forced physical training
Oct. 14, 2005 | CID | ACLU-RDI 4527
CID investigation into allegations of prisoner maltreatment/abuse at Camp Cropper, Iraq. The investigation established probable cause to believe that eleven (11) members of the Military Police assigned to Camp Cropper engaged in cruelty and ...
Oct. 01, 2008
Investigative File (CID)
Face slap or insult slap, General, Assault/death, Temperature, Sexual, Physical assault, Threat, Environmental manipulation, Other Humiliation
Jan. 20, 2005 | USAF | ACLU-RDI 4792
DOD interview of FBI Behavioral Specialist who toured though Guantanamo from October 21, 2002 though January 7, 2003. The Behavioral Specialist stated that he did not see the use of Military Working Dogs (MWDs) but did hear detainees complaining ...
Jan. 02, 2007
Interview (Statement)
John T. Furlow
John T. Furlow, Geoffrey D. Miller
Physical assault, General, Sexual, Environmental manipulation, Temperature
DOA | ACLU-RDI 2496
Sworn statements of three (3) detainees at Abu Ghraib. FIRST STATEMENT: Detainee states that he "was never hit in Abu Ghraib," but was mistreated between his capture and his arrival at Abu Ghraib. Describes being interrogated and hit "by an ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Walling, General, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling