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.
Army Training and Evaluation Program 63-226L-MTP: Mission Training Plan for Headquarters, Main Support Battalion, Airborne, Air Assault, And Light Infantry Divisions.
Training Manual for Unit Leaders, Military Intelligence Battalion. Relevant missions: Handle enemy prisoners of war (5-643/ DODOA-005980); Establish interrogation site (5-174/ DODDOA-005517); Conduct interrogation support operations (5-177/ ...
Army Field Manual No. 19-15: FM 19-15 Civil Disturbance. Guidelines for civil disturbance control operations. Information & Operations planning; Use of force guidelines; use of live ammunition; use of deadly force; etc.
Regulations establishing responsibilities, policies and procedures for training soldiers in the Code of Conduct and training in survival, evasion, resistance and escape techniques.
Regulations establishing the policy, procedures, and responsibilities associated with the U.S. Army Corrections System (ACS). ACS is for "military offenders," including those transferred from other (non-army) services and provides "uniform system ...
Regulations establishing responsibilities policies and procedures for direction, management & control of Army military working dog (MWD) program. Primary uses for MWD: Patrol dogs, Narcotics/Contraband detection, Explosives detection. Other ...
Email with attachments of policies and procedures on handling detainees and interrogations once an individual is in US custody, specifically in Iraq. This document is as a result of the investigation in to detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison to ...
A document production cover letter from the Department of Defense to the ACLU in the ACLU's FOIA litigation for documents related to the treatment of detainees. The letter notes the release of the Taguba Report and some documents from the Defense ...
This is a memo of admonishment for Gen. Karpinski's service record file. It pertains to her leadership and command of the Military Police activities and abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.
This is a memo for the handling and accountability of detainees in military custody. It takes the recommendations from the investigation of detainee abuse that occurred at Abu Ghraib prison and gives specific instructions and details on how ...
Testimony of Captain Marc C. Hale, Commander, 670th Military Police Company. Cpt. Hale described how his unit got to Iraq and the challenges they faced as soldiers. He stated that they were for escorting personnel such as contractors and other ...
Testimony of First Lieutenant Michael A. Drayton, Commander, 870th Military Police Company. 1LT Drayton described the tension between the Military Police and the Military Intelligence components at Abu Ghraib. Then the 1Lt stated "One of my ...
Cpt. Reese was the commander of the soldiers directly involved in detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib. He said of his men “I'm appalled by what I saw from my soldiers; 2 out of the 7 here are correctional officers. And they were specifically put there ...
Interview of Second Lieutenant of the Military Intelligence Unit assigned to the 320th Military Police Battalion. This officer's duty is to brief the Battalion Commanders staff of any potential threats, both inside and outside the facility. The ...
Testimony of Sergeant William G. Cathcart, 372nd Military Police Company. SGT Cathcart described his deployment and stated "We didn't receive any training on the Geneva Conventions while working with the Iraqi law enforcement. To my ...
This memo describes Captain Ray's on-site investigation of Abu Ghraib prison. The memo highlights that "Nearly every soldier had a different method in which they made [head] counts of detainees" as well as the lack of Standard Operating ...
This memorandum establishes the interrogation and counter-resistance policy for security internees under the control of CJTF-7. It recognizes that security internees who are civilians and who are detained pursuant to Articles 5 and 78 of the ...
Testimony of Mr. John Israel. Mr. Israel is a US Civilian Contract linguist/Interpreter hired by the Department of Defense through the Titan Corporation and assigned to the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade to assist in detainee interrogations ...
Testimony of Sergeant Michael Smith, Army Dog Handler. In discussing how the dog(s) under his control are used. SGT Smith said "Dogs are used at the last level, before deadly force, to prevent escape. I've never had to use my dog in my uses of ...
Testimony of Petty Officer & Master-at-Arms William J. Kimbro, U.S. Navy Dog Handler. MA1 Kimbro described how he was assigned to Iraq and came to be at Abu Ghraib prison. He said "As far as I knew we were to support the prison with canine ...
Testimony of Mr. Steve Stephanowicz US Civilian Contract Interrogator, 205th Military Intelligence Brigade. Mr. Stephanowicz is a Navy intelligence specialist. He was employed by CJTF-7 to support operations in Iraq, specifically, Abu Ghraib ...
Testimony of Staff Sergeant Robert Elliot, Squad Leader, 372nd Military Police Company. SSG Elliot's job as a Squad Leader and Assistant NCOIC was to keep accountability of inmates, receive new prisoners, the in processing and out processing of ...
Testimony of Staff Sergeant Santos A. Cardona, 320th Military Police Company, Army Dog Handler. SSG stated "I haven't been trained on Geneva Hague Convention. I know it is the rules governing the law of warfare. Basically it covers treating ...
Testimony of Sergeant First Class Shannon K. Snider, Platoon Sergeant, 372nd Military Police Company. SFC Snider's duties were as the NCOIC of the hard site. Her duties included working to safeguard prisoners, make sure inmates receive meals on ...
Testimony of Sergeant First Class Keith A. Comer, 372nd Military Police Company. SFC Comer described that he came in to his position as the Company's 1st Sargent because the previous 1st Sargent has been suspended from his duties pending the ...
Testimony of Sergeant First Class Keith A. Comer, Platoon Sergeant, 229th Military Police Company. SFC Comer verified an incident he previously reported involving 2-3 Military Intelligence personnel abusing a detainee. He said he and other ...
Testimony of First Sergeant Brian G. Lipinski, 372nd Military Police Company.1SG Lipinski was under suspension from his 1SG duties at the time of this interview. He described his unit and how they arrived in Iraq. He said “Our soldiers have 3 ...
Testimony of Master Sargent Andrew J. Lombardo, Operations Sergeant Major, 310th Military Police Battalion.MSG Lombardo described his understanding of the rights of detainees in custody the following way “Detainees have certain rights that you ...
Testimony of First Sergeant Dawn J. Rippelmeyer, 977th Military Police Company. 1st Sgt. Rippelmyer went over how she and her unit received their assignment and generally described the military discipline at Camp Bucca as lax and lacking military ...
Testimony of Sergeant Major Mark Emerson, Operations Sergeant Major, 320th Military Police Battalion. Sergeant Major Mark Emerson was the Operations SGM for the 320th MP Battalion since 1999. He gave his impression of the Brigade’s operations and ...