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.
Email from Daniel Levin to John Rizzo discussing whether the use of twelve interrogation techniques in the interrogation of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani would violate any U.S. statute, the U.S. Constitution, or any treaty obligation of the U.S.
Email from Daniel Levin to John Rizzo discussing whether the use of twelve interrogation techniques in the interrogation of Sharif al-Masri would violate any U.S. statute, the U.S. Constitution, or any treaty obligation of the U.S.
This document, prepared by the Chief of Medical Services, summarizes and reflects upon the rendition, detention and interrogation program. The findings include that in a particular no evidence was found that the use of waterboard produced ...
This is a heavily redacted message from John Rizzo to Michael Hayden, Michael Morell, and Stephen Kappes, describing an ICRC meeting with detainees and how the detainees' allegations to the ICRC do not "sound far removed from the reality."
This heavily redacted memo asks that language discussing the legality of given activities and judgment calls from senior agency officials not be included in written traffic.
This message from Scott Muller to James Pavitt describes a planned move of CIA detainees from Guantanamo in light of an upcoming Supreme Court case which will decide whether Guantanamo is U.S. territory.
This is a heavily redacted message discussing OMS concerns about the use of enhanced interrogation techniques and the legal responsibility for the program.
A letter from the CIA to OLC requesting that the OLC reaffirm its analyses in several previously issued memos relating to interrogation. The letter states that "we rely on the applicable law and OLC guidance to assess the lawfulness of detention ...
This note from the Counterterrorism Center is heavily redacted and discusses the implications of a detainee being granted POW status and potential violations of the Geneva Convention.
This message contains a discussion between CIA and CTC officials about defending the interrogation program in the public domain and the necessity of retaining secrecy around the program.
These guidelines, issued by George Tenet, detail permissible interrogation techniques (including EITs), medical and psychological personnel who must be present, interrogation personnel, approvals required, and recordkeeping requirements.
This document is a heavily redacted letter from Scott Muller to the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence proposing a draft response to a Human Rights Watch letter.
This document is a heavily redacted message concerning a White House meeting on enhanced techniques, and mentions that the Justice Department memorandum provides a legal "safe harbor" where conduct is lawful and no prosecutions will be mounted.
This heavily redacted memorandum contains comments from Medical Services on the Counterterrorism Detention and Investigation Program. The memorandum mentions OMS concerns about a conflict of interest in which the only individuals approved to ...
This Operational Review of the CIA Detainee Program finds that the program is a success and provides "unique and invaluable intelligence." The review also finds that the procedures for handling detainees are "adequate and clear"and that the ...
This memorandum is a heavily redacted message to Acting Assistant Attorney General Dan Levin, stating that the CIA is preparing preliminary biographies "in preparation for a future request for a legal opinion" on interrogations in CIA control.
This photo most likely depicts the injured leg of Manadel Al-Jamadi, an Iraqi man captured by Navy SEALs in November 2003 and tortured and killed by CIA interrogators at the Abu Ghraib prison. The gruesome details of Al-Jamadi’s abuse and killing ...
This photo relates to the case of a “high value” Iraqi detainee, who, according to a report by The Constitution Project, was Ibrahim Khalid Samir al-Ani, a Baathist intelligence officer wrongly accused of having met with 9/11 hijacker Mohammed ...
This document is a lengthy email from a FBI agent who repeatedly expresses discomfort with FBI interrogation methods. He reports being "placed in a very precarious situation" and "asked to do something I fest was wrong given what FBI agents can ...
This document is the CIA's response to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program. "The comments presented in this paper on The Senate Select Committee on ...
This letter from the Director of National Intelligence to Jameel Jeffer of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a response to the ACLU's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) of December 9, 2008.
Faxed memorandum from Benjamin Powell to Distribution regarding a November 29, 2006 meeting where representatives from the NSC, DOD, State Department, DOJ, CIA, and ODNI met to discuss security issues concerning the 14 High Value Detainees being ...
This document expresses the minority views of Vice Chairman Chambliss and Senators Burr, Risch, Coats, Rubio, and Coburn written in response to the full Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program. ...
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 ...
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.
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, ...
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:
"• ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 document is a selected chronology of representative documents concerning U.S. interrogation policy and legal requirements. While the bulk of the document is redacted, the chronology includes references to OLC memoranda from Jay S. Bybee and ...
This Iraq Survey Group chart lists the current high value detainees as of March 12, 2004 and intends to "inform HVD stakeholders of current ISG analytical/exploitation focus." The document states that detainees scheduled for release are ...
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 ...