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 (6709)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Aug. 03, 2005 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3699
State Department cable with talking points addressing the concerns of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The cable states that the Working Group does not have a mandate or the competence to make an accurate assessment of the U.S. ...
Aug. 01, 2005 | CID | ACLU-RDI 2301
This CID investigation concerns an investigation in to detainee abuse in Afghanistan. A New York Times newspaper was releasing a story on 12 May 04, concerning allegations of a Afghan Police Colonel that was alleged to be abused by U.S. Forces in ...
Feb. 15, 2006
Investigative File (CID)
Sexual, Assault/death, Physical assault, Threat
July 31, 2005 | CID | ACLU-RDI 2276
Detainee alleged abuse.
July 29, 2005 | CID | ACLU-RDI 5864
A CID investigation into the death of an unknown male Abu Ghraib detainee. The report states that the detainee died of "a gunshot wound to the right hip and flank during an altercation with US coalition forces." Because the death was "combat ...
Jan. 14, 2011
Investigative File (CID), Notes, Photograph, Medical (Autopsy, Death Certificate), Interview (Statement, Summaries/Notes)
Unknown Iraqi Male, 115 Field Hospital, Abu Ghraib Prision, Iraq, April 4, 2005
July 27, 2005 | Legislative | ACLU-RDI 6065
The document includes portions of the transcript from the SASC hearing with Generals Craddock, Schmidt, and Furlow, regarding allegations of the abusive treatment of detainees and the Department of Defense's role in investigating such claims.
Interview (Transcript)
Randall Mark Schmidt, John T. Furlow, Bantz J. Craddock
July 27, 2005 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 6814
This memo from Donald Rumsfeld to Stephen Hadley, Cheney, Gonzales, Rice, and Dan Bartlett provides a set of metrics for detention operations through July 20, 2005.
Dec. 15, 2009
Non-legal Memo
Donald H. Rumsfeld
Stephen Hadley
Richard B. Cheney, Alberto R. Gonzales, Condoleeza Rice, Daniel Bartlett
July 26, 2005 | NCIS | ACLU-RDI 5822
This is an NCIS investigation into the death of Abu Bachir, a Syrian National. Marines and Iraqi National Guard Forces (ING) stopped and searched a vehicle coming from the direction of Syria. A Red Opal a taxi with three (3) passengers. As the ...
Jan. 21, 2011
Investigative File (NCIS), Medical (Autopsy), Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Abu Bachir
Physical assault
July 25, 2005 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4486
Letter from Margaret P. Grafeld, DOS to Amrit Singh, ACLU re: the ACLU's FOIA Request. Letter states that the document production requested is being complied with in some parts and denied or withheld in part.
Aug. 09, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
July 25, 2005 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4488
Letter from Margaret P. Grafeld, DOS to Amrit Singh, ACLU re: the ACLU's FOIA Request. Letter states that the document production requested is being complied with in some parts and denied or withheld in part.
Aug. 09, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
July 25, 2005 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4490
Letter from Margaret P. Grafeld, DOS to Amrit Singh, ACLU re: the ACLU's FOIA Request. Letter states that the document production requested is being complied with in some parts and denied or withheld in part.
Aug. 09, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld