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
June 08, 2002 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4544

An OLC memo concluding that “the military has the legal authority to detain [Jose Padilla] as a prisoner captured during an international armed conflict,” and that the Posse Comitatus Act poses no bar.

Mar. 02, 2009
Legal Memo
Jay S. Bybee
John D. Ashcroft
John D. Ashcroft, Jay S. Bybee, William J. Haynes, II, Alberto R. Gonzales, Patrick Philbin, Robert J. Delahunty, Timothy E. Flanigan
Jose Padilla
June 10, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3588
This State Department cable provides talking points for US mission & Embassy officials to inform foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. It ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper
June 12, 2002 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2037
This memo is to memorialize the training received by fifteen (15) Military Police soldiers from: 272nd MP Co. (6); 363rd MP Co. (2); and the 307th MP Co. (7) in the Use of Force and the use of a firearm, including deadly force.
June 12, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3928
This State Department Cable is entitled "Subject: June 10 Transfer of Detainees to Guantanamo". There is no other discernible information or context.
June 12, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3937
This State Department cable provides talking points for US mission & Embassy officials to inform foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. It ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Brent E. Blaschke , JoAnn J. Dolan, Pierre-Richard Prosper
June 14, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4091

Email refers to an attached memo that has been revised, the memo appears to be related to detainee transfers. Memo not included.

Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Brent E. Blaschke
JoAnn J. Dolan | David W. Bowker | Kara L. Bue | Brian H. Leventhal | David L. Scott
Brent E. Blaschke , JoAnn J. Dolan, David W. Bowker, David L. Scott, Brian H. Leventhal, Kara L. Bue, Charles L. Daris
June 16, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6718
This June 16, 2002 cable asks that 1) psychological supervision of Abu Zubaydah be provided while the IC SERE psychologist is away and 2) that the group come to agreement on implementing the period of isolation of Abu Zubaydah, using verifiable ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
ALEC
Abu Zubaydah
Isolation
June 17, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 3634
Letters sent from various individuals at Amnesty International to George W. Bush and Colin L. Powell requesting proper treatment of detainees at Guantanamo and in Afghanistan. The main theme of the letters is the US' violation of international ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Letter
Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush, Frank E. Schmelzer , Donald H. Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Jack Straw, John Winston Howard
Bisher Amin Khalil al Rawi, Jamil El Banna, Moazzam Begg, David Hicks, Feroz Ali Abassi
June 17, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6745
This June 17, 2002 email discuses replacing psychologist Jim Mitchell with another SERE psychologist whose name is redacted during the July headquarters meeting. The email also includes the contents of a cable regarding "preparing for [redacted] ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Email, Cable
James Mitchell
Abu Zubaydah
Isolation
June 18, 2002 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 2828
This memo is describing the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit's (BAU) On-Site Assessment of Interview Process at Guantanamo in 2002. It notes that other U.S. government entities have conducted behavioral assessments at Guantanamo. Enclosed is a BAU ...
Dec. 15, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Pasquale D'Amuro | John S. Pistole | Kenneth H. Senser | Thomas F. Lewis II | Andrew Arena | David W. Szady | Hector M. Pesquera | Cassandra M. Chandler
John S. Pistole, Pasquale D'Amuro, Kenneth H. Senser, Thomas F. Lewis II, Andrew Arena, David W. Szady, Hector M. Pesquera, Cassandra M. Chandler, Michael E. Dunlavey