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.
This document is a statement from an unknown military suspect concerning his/her knowledge of allegations of mistreatment of Manadel Al-Jamadi, who was held at Abu-Ghraib while in the custody of Foxtrot Platoon, SEAL Team #7. This military ...
This chart lists the "black list" numbers for what appears to be detainees held in U.S. detention facilities. The chart notes two detention facilities in which these detainees are being held : Special Prisoner Confinement Facility (SPCF) and the ...
Emails to and from Redacted at CJTF-7 regarding the death of Iraqi General Abed Mowhoush and the necessary operational logistics after the fact. The emails describe his death as "[sudden]" and "unexplained." A press release regarding the ...
Emails to and from the DOD regarding the need to conduct an autopsy of Iraqi Major General Abed Mowhoush. One email states that the 82nd Airborne Division issued a press release indicating that the Major General died of "natural causes" and that ...
This DOD memo for Attendees of the IC Leadership VTC from the Iraq Survey Group relates to the capabilities of the Joint Intelligence Debriefing Centre. A significant portion of this document is redacted.
CIA copy of a DOA letter addressed to the CIA's Office of General Counsel. In the letter Captain Christopher Graveline, Judge Advocate, states that he has been appointed trial counsel for the prosecution of five individuals in relation to ...
This memorandum of understanding is between the Joint Interrogation and Detention Center (JIDC) and all external agencies who want to house detainees in cell block 1A and 1B at Abu Ghraib. The stated goal of the agreement is to eliminate the ...
This is the CIA's copy of the final autopsy report of detainee Manadel Al-Jamadi. This document is contained within the full-length CID report linked to this document.
Autopsy No.: ME 03-504; Iraqi National male, Manadel Al-Jamadi, was ...
This presentation lays out the organizational structure of the The Iraq Survey Group (ISG), its mission statement, goals, operating hypotheses, and issues. One part of the ISG's operations was the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center.
This report known as the "Taguba Report" covers the alleged abuse of prisoners by members of the 800th Military Police Brigade at the Abu Ghraib Prison in Baghdad. It was ordered by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of Joint Task Force 7, the ...
Death certificate of Manadel Al-Jamadi accompanied by a CID executive summary of his death. The summary asserts that Al-Jamadi died of a heart attack after being released from Navy Seal Team #7 and the OGA interrogation team. The CID will ...
This army memo establishes the USCENTCOM requirements for the parole and release of detainees and EPWs (enemy prisoners of war) in Iraq. A significant portion of the document's text, including the names of relevant officials, has been redacted.
This investigative report details the detention and interrogation of former Iraqi Army captain, Manadal Al-Jamadi, at the Abu Ghraib detention facility on November 3, 2003. All names of officials involved in the interrogation have been ...
Preliminary autopsy report of General Abed Mowhoush, who died on November 26th, 2003 after being interrogated at the Al Qaim detention facility in Iraq. The cause and manner of death are listed as "pending".
This document provides SECDEF guidance to assist in the execution of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It provides a list of 55 individuals on a Blacklist which is to be used to "help identify Iraqis who are to be apprehended and taken under US control ...
This Department of the Army Inspector General report is the result of the Acting Secretary of the Army's February 10, 2004 directive to conduct an assessment of the Army's detainee and interrogation operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The aim ...
This Tactical Interrogation Report, written by the DOD's J2X branch and addressed to Iraqi coalition forces, documents the interrogation of Iraqi detainee Amged Kazem Khalaf. The report consists of three components (I) Administrative (II) ...
Document provides an executive summary of the death of a detainee, Manadal Al-Jamadi. Mr. Jamadi was pronounced dead at Abu Ghuraib prison on November 5, 2003. The executive summary is dated November 5, 2003 and states that "[w]hen MANADAL's ...
Revised version of Army Regulation 190-8, Enemy Prisoners of War, Retained Personnel, Civilian Internees and Other Detainees which implements Department of Defense Directive 2310.1 and establishes policies and planning guidance for the treatment, ...
A Central Command presentation slide entitled, "Iraq Detainee Population Categorization." The slide contains a pie chart categorizing the Iraq detainee population. Categories include: "Enemy Prisoners of War," "High Value Detainees," "Civilian ...
This Coalition Provisional Authority memo provides a mechanism for facilitating the partnership between the Multinational force-Iraq (MNF-I) and the Iraqi Interim Government (IIG). It establishes a Joint Detainee Committee (comprised of ...
General Sanchez states in his memo that "[this] memorandum established the interrogation and counter-resistance policy for CJTF-7." The memo contains two enclosures: 1. Interrogation Techniques; 2. General Safeguards. Gen. Sanchez states that ...
Presentation entitled, "C2X Conference, Camp Victory, Baghdad 8 Jun 04" with slides on "Interrogation Policy and "New Initiatives" of the C2X, Command" and Control Exercise. The "Interrogation Policy" slide contains the following bullets:
"• ...
Coalition Provisional Authority memo prescribes standards to be applied to Iraqi border control, customs, immigration and consular or quarantine services under authority of the Ministry of Justice. Includes 19 sections with headings such as ...
Army Presentation summarizing the current situation in Al Qaim Husaybah, Iraq in November 2003. The presentation includes a HUMINT summary and threat assessment describing a planned attack on coalition forces by an unnamed anti-coalition group, ...
DOD PowerPoint presentation on the detainee population, detention procedures, prosecutions, and transition issues in Iraq. The presentation provides the nationalities and numbers of detainees held, as well as other information about the ...
Emails that appear to be primarily between staff of the CIA's Office of the Inspector General, relating to the OIG's investigation of the CIA's interrogation program. The emails primarily concern the arrangment of interviews relevant to the ...
An OLC memorandum concluding that revisions of the Army Field Manual 2-22.3 and Appendix M to that manual "are consistent with the requirements of law, in particular with the requirements of the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005." The ...
CIA copy of U.S. News & World Report article discussing the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment's Operation Rifle Blitz, which was carried out to fight Iraqi resistance in Husaybah, Karabilah, and Sadah.
CIA schedule of briefings to congressional oversight committees on Iraqi prisoner abuse. Lists date and time of briefing, committee addressed, members involved, and liason officer presenting.
CIA copy of Washington Post article reporting that Attorney General John Ashcroft had stated that killings or abuse of military detainees in Iraq that involved civilian contractors could be prosecuted by the Justice Department. Ashcroft's ...
CIA copy of an article from the London Independent on Sunday reporting on the death of a son of an Iraqi policeman and the "brutal" treatment of some Iraqi prisoners while in British custody. The article describes physical beatings and violent ...
CIA copy of a London Times article describing a woman in Baghdad that learned of her husband Munadel al-Jumeili's death at Abu Ghraib only when a TV program ran an image of him in a story on abuse at that facility. The article explains ...
CIA copy of L.A. Times article reporting that the CIA is seeking to determine whether its operatives played a role in the imprisonment of "ghost detainees," Iraqi prisoners held without names, charges, or other documentation. The article notes ...
CIA copy of a transcript of George W. Bush's speech on the U.N. International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, emphasizing the conviction that "Torture is wrong no matter where it occurs" and that the United States must lead the fight to ...
CIA copy of Colorado Springs Gazette article concerning the 1st Squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment's economic assistance efforts in an Iraqi combat zone.
CIA copy of L.A. Times article reporting on the Pentagon's reversal on its conclusion about the death of Abed Hamed Mowhoush, an Iraqi general who died in U.S. custody in 2003. The article describes the history of the Pentagon's position, which ...
CIA copy of Asia Times Online article describing the preparation and execution of an Army "Tiger Strike," named "Operation Decapitation," led by Lieutenant-Colonel Gregg Reilly and intended "to pursue those Iraqis attacking [Reilly's] soldiers ...