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.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Emails discuss and include a Wall Street Journal article entitled "Pentagon Report Set Framework for Use of Torture: Security or Legal Factors Could Trump Restrictions, Memo to Rumsfeld Argued." The article discusses a classified ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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.
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.
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.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...