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
Nov. 27, 2001 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4003
Email from Todd Buchwald to David Kaye re: IM to S on Detainee Rights. Detainee Rights attachment not included.
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Todd F. Buchwald
David A. Kaye
Todd F. Buchwald, David A. Kaye
Mar. 05, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4000
DOS Fax Cover Sheet from Karl Hoffman to William Marriott re: Request for Team to Visit Detainees at Guantanamo
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Karl Hofmann
William P. Marriott
Karl W. Hofmann, William P. Marriott
Sept. 21, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4001
State Department cable concerning the transfer of Yaser Esam Hamdi from US custody to Saudi Arabia as reported in the newspapers.
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell
Yaser Esam Hamdi
Aug. 23, 2004 | ACLU-RDI 3997
Cover letter from Craig Mokhiber, officer-in-Charge, Office of the High Commissioner for the United Nations enclosing a letter from Prof. Cherif Bassiouni, Independent Expert for Human Rights in Afghanistan to Anne Patterson, U.S. Ambassador.
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Craig Mokhiber
Anne Patterson
Anne Woods Patterson
Sept. 24, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3998
DOS Cover Sheet re: Routing and Transmittal Slip: Summary of Conclusions for Principals Committee Meeting on Detainees - 9/14/04
Feb. 13, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3999
DOS interagency delivery checklist for the appropriate handling and delivery of attached documents re: Request to Interview Detainees at Guantanamo.
May 17, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3994
This State Department memo gives the State Dept.'s official position on the question of detainees/ Geneva Conventions: the Geneva Conventions apply to the conflict w/ Al Qaeda but not with the Taliban; Neither Al-Qaeda nor Taliban detainees have ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Alberto R. Gonzales, Colin L. Powell, William Howard Taft, IV
Aug. 12, 2004 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 3995
Cover letter from Craig Mokhiber, Officer-in-Charge, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to U.S. Amb. to the U.N. John Danforth enclosing a letter from Prof. Cherif Bassiouni, Independent Expert for Human Rights in Afghanistan. ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Craig Mokhiber
John Danforth
John Claggett Danforth
Aug. 19, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3996
Letter from Anne Patterson, U.S. Ambassador, to Professor Bassiouni responding to a request from Prof. Bassiouni to Amb. Danforth relating to travel to Afghanistan.
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Anne Patterson
Anne Woods Patterson, John Claggett Danforth
May 06, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3992
DOS Memo re: Talking Points on the Iraqi government taking over Abu Ghraib prison and Iraqi Governance in general post the June 30, 2004 turn-over to the Iraqis. The memo states "The Iraqi criminal justice system, including a number of courts, ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush, L. Paul Bremer, Mark Traecey Patrick Kimmitt
May 17, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3993
DOS interagency delivery checklist for the appropriate handling and delivery of attached documents re: Summary of Conclusions for Principals Committee Meeting on Detainees 5/12/04
Apr. 07, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3989
DOS Cover Sheet re: Routing and Transmittal Slip from Adrian Daniel
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Adrian Daniel
Apr. 05, 2004 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 3990
Fax Cover sheet from Steven Schneebaum, Patton Boggs Law Firm to Secretary of State Colin Powell
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Steven M. Schneebaum
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell
May 03, 2004 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 3991
Letter from Cristophe Girod, International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), to William Howard Taft IV re: Working Paper on ICRC Sixth Visit to the internment facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, between January 26 th and March 8th 2004. Mr. ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Christophe Girod
William Howard Taft, IV
William Howard Taft, IV, Jay W. Hood, P. Michael McKinley, Charles A. Allen, John B. Bellinger, III, Shirin Tahir-Kheli, Benjamin R. Mixon
Dec. 28, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3986
Letter from Margaret P. Grafeld, DOS to Amrit Singh, ACLU re: the ACLU's FOIA Request. The letter states that the document production requested is being complied with in some parts and denied or withheld in part.
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
Feb. 04, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3987
Cover sheet, transmittal slips, blank sheet w/ handwriting "To: Don Rumsfeld, Condi Rice, Andy Card, FYI"
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Jonathan B. Schwartz
Todd F. Buchwald | JoAnn J. Dolan
Jonathan B. Schwartz, Todd F. Buchwald, JoAnn J. Dolan, Andrew Card, Condoleeza Rice, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Colin L. Powell
Mar. 03, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3988
DOS Cover Sheet re: Routing and Transmission Report re: Guantanamo Detainees. The recipients are Sec. Def. Rumsfeld, NSA Advisor Rice and Andrew Card.
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Colin L. Powell
Donald H. Rumsfeld | Condoleeza Rice | Andrew Card
Oct. 09, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3984
Partially redacted press guidance for DOD release of draft military instruction, which lists/defines certain violations of laws of war and other offenses triable by military commission. The talking points instruct that if inquired about the ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Ronald W. Miller
Ronald W. Miller, Pierre-Richard Prosper
Aug. 05, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3985
Email from David J. Tessler to Jonathan M. Crock and Joshua L. Dorosin re: News Reports from London August 5, 2004. The comment from Mr. Tessler on the email is "Good morning. Another interesting piece in London's daily brief about detainees, ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
David J. Tessler
Jonathan M. Crock | Joshua L. Dorosin
Jonathan M. Crock, Joshua L. Dorosin
Oct. 30, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3981
Emails between Joshua L. Dorosin, Michael T. Peay and Edward R. Cummings re:Treatment of Guantanamo Detainees - Critical Herald Tribune Story, 10/30/02. The email is seeking guidance on Tribune's article about the maltreatment of Guantanamo ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Joshua L. Dorosin
Michael T. Peay | Ed Cummings | Steven A. Solomon | Jeffrey DeLaurentis | Piper A. Campbell | Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Joshua L. Dorosin, Michael T. Peay, Edward R. Cummings, Steven A. Solomon, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, Piper Anne Wind Campbell, Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Mar. 01, 2003 | ACLU-RDI 3982
Guantanamo Detainees Op-Ed by Pierre-Richard Prosper Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, March 2003. In this Op-ed Amb. Prosper describes how it is that America came to the issue of taking Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters and the difficulty ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Other
Pierre-Richard Prosper
Pierre-Richard Prosper
May 17, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3983
Email regarding pre-meeting for presenters for ACIL meeting
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Joshua L. Dorosin
Russell K. LaMotte
Russell K. LaMotte, Joshua L. Dorosin, Todd F. Buchwald
Dec. 03, 2004 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 3979
Letter from Yvan Peeters to Sec. of State Powell requesting that children being held at Guantanamo be given access to their families and to lawyers, and either be promptly charged and tried or released.
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Yvan Peeters
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell
Dec. 23, 2003 | ACLU-RDI 3980
Letter enclosing the ICRC Working Paper on their fifth visit to Guantanamo Bay from August 18 - October 10, 2003.
Dec. 11, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3976
Memo summarizing request from the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) to meet and discuss the treatment of detainees and other humanitarian concerns. Recommends meeting in mid-January.
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Arthur E. Dewey
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Arthur E. Dewey , Condoleeza Rice, Paula J. Dobriansky, William Howard Taft, IV, Paul Wolfowitz
Jan. 25, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3977
DOS Cable re: Secretary of State Powell's January 25, 2003 Meeting with International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) President Kellenberger. Heavily redacted: Simply states that Powell met with Kellenberger in Davos on June 25 (which seems to ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Richard A. Boucher, Craig A. Kelly
Mar. 26, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3978
DOS Memo from William H. Taft to Secretary of State Powell re: Photographing POWs and the Geneva Conventions. Summary redacted. Discussion explores the US position on photographing and/or releasing photographs of POWs.
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
William Howard Taft, IV
Colin L. Powell
William Howard Taft, IV, Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper, Edward R. Cummings, JoAnn J. Dolan, Joshua L. Dorosin, Ronald W. Miller, Steven A. Solomon
Oct. 20, 2003 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 3974
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights litigation requesting that the Commission take measures to have the legal status of detainees held at Guantanamo be determined by a competent court, and to protect against the torture of detainees.
Dec. 30, 2004
Judicial (Pleading)
Physical assault, Assault/death, Stress positions, Isolation, Temperature, Threat, Environmental manipulation
Dec. 08, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3975
DOS Cover Sheet re: Summary of Conclusions for Principals Committee Meeting on Detainees 12/4/03
July 08, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3972
DOS Fax from Nichole Sobotha to Frank Geoffrey, JoAnn Dolan and Joshua L. Dorosin re: Letter from Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). ODIHR request for information regarding cases to be tried by the US in front of the ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Nichole Sobotka
JoAnn J. Dolan | Joshua L. Dorosin | Frank Gaffney
Joshua L. Dorosin, JoAnn J. Dolan, Francis M. Gaffney
Oct. 20, 2003 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 3973

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Hearing on Guantanamo Detainees re: Signature Page of Submission cover sheet, signed by Steven Watt (CCR), Viviana Krsticevic (CIJL), and Roxanna Altholz, (CIJL).

Sept. 17, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3969
Emails between JoAnn Dolan Cynthis Francisco, Edward Betancourt and others re: Hamdi Cable. The email has an attachment with the comment "All Agree?" The attached document in entitled "Cable - Clarification on Hamdi."
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
JoAnn J. Dolan
Ronald W. Miller | Rexon Y. Ryu | Cynthia Stewart Francisco | Edward Betancourt | Catherine W. Brown | David Whiddon | Amal Patel
JoAnn J. Dolan
Yaser Esam Hamdi
Dec. 29, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3970
Letter from Margaret P. Grafeld, DOS to Amrit Singh, ACLU re: the ACLU's FOIA Request. The letter states that the document production requested is being complied with in some parts and denied or withheld in part.
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
May 27, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3971
This memo is background information on International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) President Kellenberger in preparation of a meeting with Sec. of State Powell.
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Arthur E. Dewey
Colin L. Powell, Arthur E. Dewey
Nov. 26, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3966
Email from Clifton Johnson forwarding an article in the Independent (UK) with the headline "Guantanamo treatment is 'monstrous', says law lord", Dated November 26, 2003. The forwarding comments are: "Folks, The story below was in today's ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Clifton M. Johnson
Pierre-Richard Prosper | JoAnn J. Dolan | Jonathan M. Crock | Todd F. Buchwald | David A. Kaye
Clifton M. Johnson, Pierre-Richard Prosper, JoAnn J. Dolan, Jonathan M. Crock, Todd F. Buchwald
May 07, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3967
Email from Steve Solomon to JoAnn Dolan forwarding an email from Joseph Casey to Lynn Cassel with the subject "Wall Street Journal to Publish International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) February Report." The comments from Steve Solomon to ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Steve A. Solomon
JoAnn J. Dolan
Steven A. Solomon, JoAnn J. Dolan, Edward R. Cummings, Joseph P. Cassidy, Lynn L. Cassel, Kevin Edward Moley, Piper Anne Wind Campbell, Magda S. Siekert, Michael T. Peay
July 08, 2005 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3968
Email from Henry Bisharat to Betsy Anderson forwarding an article by the Associated Press re: "Swedish Man Is Released From Guantanamo." Mr. Bisharat comments are synopsizing the article and stating that he also heard Foreign Minister Freivalds ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Henry Bisharat
Betsy L. Anderson
Henry Bisharat, Ronald W. Miller, Jonathan M. Crock, Heather A. Conley, Elizabeth H. Richard, JoAnn J. Dolan
July 21, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3963
DOS Memo re: Talking Points on Australian National Detained at Guantanamo. The memo states that "Australian legal experts will visit the White House to discuss the issue of Australian nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay." and "The Legal Adviser ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Colin L. Powell, Brent E. Blaschke , William Howard Taft, IV
July 21, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3964
Emails between Jonathan B. Schwartz and Diane McBride, Beverly S. Holman and Others re: UK Attorney General Goldsmith. Attachment not included.
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Jonathan B. Schwartz
Beverly S. Holman | Diane McBride
JoAnn J. Dolan, Beverly S. Holman, Diane McBride, Jonathan B. Schwartz
Nov. 26, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3965
Email from Waldo W. Brooks to JoAnn Dolan re: U.S. and Australia Announce Agreements on Guantanamo Detainees
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Waldo W. Brooks
JoAnn J. Dolan
Waldo W. Brooks , JoAnn J. Dolan
David Hicks
Apr. 28, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3960
Email from Jonathan Crock to JoAnn Dolan re "Saudi cable" sent to DOD. Doc not listed in DOS log.
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Jonathan M. Crock
JoAnn J. Dolan
JoAnn J. Dolan, William Howard Taft, IV, Ronald W. Miller, Pierre-Richard Prosper, Eliana Davidson, Charles A. Allen, Jonathan M. Crock
Apr. 26, 2003 | ACLU-RDI 3961
American Bar Association Resolution re: Independent Human Rights Monitors for all Non-U.S. Detainees Held in U. S. Custody. The resolution recommends that the U.S. ensure access by the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), the UN ...
July 14, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3962
Email from Mark W. Libby to Jonathan Crock re: Briefing Request. Remarks: Per Whitaker/Prosper conversation, please prepare a briefing memo for the Secretary's participation in this PC. Please deliver final, fully cleared memo to S/ES-S no later ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Mark W. Libby
Jonathan M. Crock
Jonathan M. Crock, Pierre-Richard Prosper
DOS | ACLU-RDI 3958
This State Department memo addresses the question of applying Military Commissions to the Guantanamo detainees. The memo states 1) Military commissions are well-established in U.S. law and practice, as well as international law and practice; 2) ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush
Mar. 31, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3959
This State Department memo addresses the issue of transferring and repatriating the Guantanamo detainees against the requirements of the Geneva Convention. The memo highlights the Geneva Convention provision which states, in part, "POWs shall be ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
David W. Bowker
David W. Bowker, William Howard Taft, IV, James H. Thessin, Edward R. Cummings, Brent E. Blaschke
June 02, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3956
This cable from the U.S. Mission in Geneva, Switzerland to Sec. State Powell is a forward of a letter received from the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions and Torture. The letter requests that the ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell
DOS | ACLU-RDI 3957
This State Department memo addresses the question of applying Article 5 of the Geneva Convention to the Guantanamo detainees. The memo states POW status does not apply to the Taliban or to Al Qaeda because they are: 1) not subject to military ...
Dec. 10, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3954
DOS interagency delivery checklist for the appropriate handling and delivery of attached documents re: National Security Council Meeting on Detainees.
Dec. 08, 2003 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 3955
Letter from Nury A. Turkel, General Secretary, Uyghur American Association to Secretary of State Colin Powell requesting that the U.S. not returning the Uyghurs to China out of concern that they will be subject to persecution and torture. Mr. ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Nury A. Turkel
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell
Jan. 28, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3952
State Department talking points states that the legal status of detainees is being revied and that treatment of detainees is consistent the the Geneva conventions.