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)

Email includes a report on the American Correctional Association's (ACA) visit to Guantanamo.
Feb. 15, 2006
Email
Donald J. Ryder
Emails refer to graphs depicting information on detainees at various camps, including Camp Bucca and Abu Ghraib. [Graphs are not included].
Feb. 15, 2006
Email
Donald J. Ryder
Emails discuss leadership training.
Feb. 15, 2006
Email
Donald J. Ryder, James R. Schlesinger
Daily update on Office of the Provost Marshall General's operations/activities.
Feb. 15, 2006
Email
Donald J. Ryder, James R. Schlesinger
FBI Memo: Integrity in Government/Civil Rights Section Filed Investigations Iraq/Afghanistan June 2004. Notes several corruption cases and alleged rape case.
This letter from Jacob Kellenberger of President of the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) is a request that the ICRC reports on the detention facilities in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Afghanistan be transmitted or shared with ...
Oct. 15, 2004
Letter
Jakob Kellnberger
Kevin Edward Moley
Kevin Edward Moley

Fax cover sheet from the Office of the State Department Legal Advisor William H. Taft, IV to Jim Haynes, DoD, General Counsel, Jack Goldsmith, Assistant Attorney General and John Bellinger, NSC. Attachement not included.

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: "• ...
This document is a memo to file for the Criminal Investigation Division to establish interim policy concerning the investigation and autopsy of detainee deaths occurring in the custody of the Armed Forces of the United States in a deployed ...
Email from Army Officer to Army Officer re: Balkans Pre-Deployment Detention Training Requirements. Chain of e-mails confirms that upcoming Balkan units need to be trained on detention facility operations and questions where and how long the ...
Mar. 23, 2005
Email
Donald Campbell
Guidance for Military Intelligence interrogation of detainees
String of emails in response to NCIS inquiry into an incident mentioned in a USMC report regarding all Iraqi detainee abuse and death cases. The NCIS official had not heard of one incident concerning detainee who is suspected of dying of head ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Email
Threat, Assault/death
This sworn statement of a Civilian Interrogator assigned to Abu Ghraib prison from October 2003 to December 2003. Stated that he/she was aware of 'short chaining' detainees and removal of their clothing. Recalled there being a lot of detainee ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Use of phobias, Nudity
Medical record of 35-year-old detainee who was allegedly physically abused for five days. Detainee claims to have been physically beaten and threatened with sodomy. At the time of the medical examination no bruises or scars were found. The ...
A detainee claims that during an interview conducted on 06/03/04, he was made to stand with his arms outstretched for three hours, then forced to kneel until he had a heart problem and collapsed. He stated he was taken to the hospital, but the ...
Dec. 21, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Forced physical training
These emails concern the training of forces pre-deployment in the proper manner to handle detainees in the Blakans.
These emails concern an updating of the training manual for Military Intelligence (MI) units in their handling and interrogation of detainees. Some of the proposed additions to the training manual are: Communicate with Detainees (Muslim Cultural ...

Statement of Sergeant - Guard at the 2-3 FA Detainee Facility Dec. 2003 - Jan. 2004. Contains questions and answers regarding the locations of interrogations and interrogation practices. Respondent states that detainees were removed from the ...

Statement of Corporal - Guard at the 2-3 FA Detainee Facility Dec. 2003 - Jan. 2004. Questions and Answers regarding the locations of interrogations and interrogation practices. Same set of questions as in ACLU-RDI 2588. In response to a ...

Sworn Statement of Corporal - Guard at the 2-3 FA Detainee Facility Dec. 2003 - Jan. 2004. Questions and Answers regarding the locations of interrogations and interrogation practices.

Sworn statement of a guard at 2-3 FA Detainee Holding facility. Questions and Answers regarding the locations of interrogations and interrogation practices.

Sworn statement of a guard at 2-3 FA Detainee Holding Facility. Questions and Answers regarding the locations of interrogations and interrogation practices. Respondent states, "I remember two women and the guy who died who they said was ...

Sworn statement of a Private First Class guard at 2-3 FA Detainee Holding Facility, Abu Ghraib Prison. Questions and Answers regarding the locations of interrogations and interrogation practices. In response to a question about a specific set ...

Translation of a news article, discussing the death of a detainee, Egyptian national, Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Azmeerly.
Nov. 23, 2004
Other
Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Azmeerly
State Department cable regarding the release of a biography of a former Danish Guantanamo detainee, Slimane Hadj Abderrahmane. Mr. Abderrahmane has not made any public statements alleging mistreatment, but the Danish press is highlighting the ...
State Department cable from the U.S. Mission in Geneva to Washington containing a letter by Leila Zerrougui, the UN Special Rapporteur on Arbitrary Detention concerning persons being held by U.S. forces where the persons have not been charged ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Cable
Kevin Edward Moley
Colin L. Powell
Kevin Edward Moley, Colin L. Powell
Email from Robert Harris forwarding an email with and attached news article entitled "Pentagon Report set framework for use of torture."
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 ...
Mar. 15, 2013
Other
Manadel Al-Jamadi
Sworn statement of a Captain, Commander of the 72nd Military Police Company who was deployed to Abu Ghraib prison from May 23, 2003 until October 15, 2003. The Captain stated his mission was to prepare the prison for transition to Iraqi control. ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Geoffrey D. Miller
Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Nudity, Other
This Sergeant was assigned to Abu Ghraib prison from May 22, 2003 to November 4, 2003. The Sergeant stated "MPs never used physical force, withheld food, humiliated or otherwise abused detainees as a control measure. Military Police (MP) were ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity
This Captain, a Military Police (MP) Platoon Leader with the 72nd Military Police Company was assigned to Abu Ghraib prison from May 21, 2003 to late October 2003. The Capt. stated "I was one of the first soldiers on the ground and helped set up ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Stress positions, Nudity, Forced physical training
Interviewee was the Team Chief of the Tiger Team from GTMO assigned to AG. Vaguely recalled discussion of an incident in which an interpreter walked out of an interrogation.
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Thomas Pappas, George R. Fay
Other
Army Specialist assigned to Abu Ghraib prison identifies U.S. personnel in photos depicting alleged abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison November - December 2003.
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
General, Physical assault
Interviewee (title and length of assignment in AG is unknown). Interviewee's sworn statement identifies various individuals. [Information redacted].
Interviewee (title and length of assignment in AG unknown). Interviewee's sworn statement identified individuals involved with detainee abuse. One picture depicts a room without a mattress and a blood stained floor with drag marks.
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Physical assault
Interviewee was assigned to AG from May 23, 2003 to October 15, 2003 as the Iraqi Survey Group of the 72 Military Police Company. Interviewee recalled an incident where [redacted] had several detainees moved into the sun. Later, the detainees ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Geoffrey D. Miller, Thomas Pappas
Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Nudity
Memo discusses that [redacted] maintained old operations files/records that detail detainee movement within Tier 1.
Interviewee was assigned to AG from May 2003 to November 2003 as a Platoon Leader, responsible for daytime guard operations. Interviewee stated, "I observed MI use some stress positions to include detainees holding their arms out for extended ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Stress positions, Nudity
Interviewee was assigned to AG from late May 2003 to early November 2003 as a Military Police Guard for the 72nd MP Company. Interviewee recalled an incident when another officer called him over to look at a naked detainee for the purpose of ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Physical assault, Sexual, General, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
Pages 9-11 of a 12-page CID report (0106-04-CID259-80185), consisting of an Agent's investigation Report. A detainee claims that he was "physically abused while at the palace," including being "pulled by his penis, kicked, punched, and hit with a ...
June 30, 2006
Investigative File (CID)
Ali
Physical assault, General, Assault/death, Threat
Sworn statement of a translator regarding allegations of detainee abuse. The translator states that they have given statements in the past two (2) weeks and the current statement concerns a complaint by a detainee about being abused. The ...
Sworn statement by a screener at Abu Ghraib prison regarding two (2) Iraqi women and their two (2) brothers detained at Abu Ghraib prison in January 2004. States, "One [brother] said he was raped with a bottle, and they mentioned another brother ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Sexual, General, Nudity, Sexual, Other Humiliation
Statement of a US Army major. Contains summaries of interviews with two detainees. First detainee, who was arrested on December 24, 2003, reported that he was "beaten ... and punched, ... hung by a nail from the wall with his hands bound behind ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Stomach/abdominal slap, Sexual, General, Stress positions
FBI talking points memo re: Polices governing the FBI's participation in overseas interrogation. Heavily redacted.

Summary of AR 15-6 investigation into death of detainee who was picked up in a cafe on 12/22/2003 and appeared to be mentally challenged. Detainee was held at 2-3 FA Detention Center for about 3 days, and then transported to 501 FSB Detention ...

Memo discusses the inability of a Sergeant to identify persons depicted in photographs of alleged detainee abuse.
Sworn statement regarding detainee abuse. The interviewee identified an individual in a photo stating he always carried a K-bar knife and stated that "the death of the detainee was from integration from MI. She told me it was listed as a heart ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Use of phobias, Other Humiliation, Other
Interviewee (title and length of assignment unknown). Interviewee identified individual(s) in photo(s). [Names are redacted].