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
This email is from Amy E. McKee and is a request to the recipients Joel Danies, Jeffrey DeLaurentis and others, to provide Felice Gaer with the attached document (not provided herein) entitled "final detainees points for Felice Gaer".
Nov. 23, 2004
Email
Amy E. McKee
Joel Danies | Jeffrey DeLaurentis
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
State Department Q & A session with the foreign press re: foreign nationals held at Guantanamo. This is a transcript of the press conference and covers the detention of the Guantanamo detainees, including their demographic information and the ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Other
Pierre-Richard Prosper
Pierre-Richard Prosper

This State Department cable provides talking points for U.S. mission & Embassy officials to inform foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked up on the battlefield of ...

Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper, Richard A. Boucher
This State Department cable is discussing the transferring out of Guantanamo certain detainees. The cable states that there is an opportunity to "air bridge" them out in September 2003. There is also a mention of an un-named detainee who refuses ...
This State Department Cable is entitled "Subject: Ambassador Prosper Discusses Detainee Issues with International Committee for the Red Cross President Kellenberger". There is no other discernible information or context.
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Richard A. Boucher
Richard A. Boucher
This State Department cable provides talking points concerning informing foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. The cable instructs the ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper
This State Department cable provides talking points for US mission & Embassy officials discuss with foreign governments the detention of their citizens/nationals at Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. The ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper
This State Department cable provides talking points for US mission & Embassy officials to inform foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. It ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper
This State Department cable provides talking points for US mission & Embassy officials to inform foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. It ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Brent E. Blaschke , David W. Bowker
This State Department cable provides talking points for US mission & Embassy officials to inform foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. It ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper
This State Department cable provides talking points for US mission & Embassy officials to inform foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. It ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper
These emails are between State department officials concerning requests for access to Guantanamo. The emails are largly redacted and the actual requests, who is making the request and the reply as to the requests is not available.
Nov. 23, 2004
Email
Gregory M. Suchan
Brent E. Blaschke | Timothy J. Dunn
Brent E. Blaschke , Timothy J. Dunn, Gregory M. Suchan
Message concerning seriously mentally ill Guantanamo detainee stating; US authorities are of the view that he must be repatriated for long term care; in a meeting last week DOD Office of General Counsel advised of the urgency of finding a place ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
David A. Kaye, Edward R. Cummings, Brent E. Blaschke , Eliana Davidson
This State Department cable provides talking points concerning informing foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. It states that the U.S. ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Pierre-Richard Prosper
Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper
This State Department cable provides talking points for US mission & Embassy officials to inform foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. It ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Brent E. Blaschke , Debra L. Cagan
This State Department cable provides talking points concerning informing foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. The information is on the ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Brent E. Blaschke
Colin L. Powell, Brent E. Blaschke , Debra L. Cagan, John B. Bellinger, III
This State Department cable provides talking points concerning informing foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. It also states that the U.S. ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Brent E. Blaschke
Colin L. Powell, Brent E. Blaschke
This State Department cable provides talking points concerning informing foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. The information is on the ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Pierre-Richard Prosper
Pierre-Richard Prosper
This State Department cable provides talking points concerning informing foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. The information is on the ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Brent E. Blaschke
Brent E. Blaschke , Colin L. Powell, Debra L. Cagan, Gregory M. Suchan
This State department cable is providing an up and status on the transfer of detainees from Afghanistan to Guantanamo. The detainees scheduled for transfer were complicated by protesters and Human Rights Chamber which purportedly issued an ...
This State Department cable is to US Missions/Embassies informing them that they should inform the governments where they are located about the transfer of that government's citizens/nationals to Guantanamo, and to share the information ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Pierre-Richard Prosper
This State Department memo provides breakdown by nationality of 27 Bagram detainees; states that “Bagram is a temporary ‘collection center’ where some detainees stop over en route to their permanent location.  The conditions at Bagram are ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Gregory M. Suchan
Gregory M. Suchan, Richard Lee Armitage
State Department cable with talking points concerning non-Afghani detainees picked-up on the battlefield of Afghanistan. The cable describes how the US intends to treat the legal status and prosecution of the detainees and appears to give ...
This State Department cable is a report on detainees as well as an assessment of the ground situation in Afghanistan. The cable focuses on a description of the Qandahar airport holding facility holding the Cuba-bound al-Qaida and Taliban ...
State Department Inter-Agency document Cover letter, no attachment; no content.
Nov. 23, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Colin L. Powell, Condoleeza Rice
This is a State Department cable containing an Action Message that states the US Government is gathering information on the identities and nationalities of detainees found in the conflict zone of Afghanistan, but is not sharing that information ...
This email contains a forwarded email from Linda Watt, Foreign Policy Advisor, SOUTHCOM, about the construction of the detainee facilities at Guantanamo. It states how many detainees will be housed there and the expectation of the resumption of ...
This State Department Cable is entitled "Subject: May 1 Transfer of Detainees to Guantanamo". There is no other discernible information or context.
State Department memo on how to address questions from the media on how the Guantanamo detainees are being treated. The memo poses potential questions and answers and states that the answers should be that the detainees are being: treated ...
Associated Press article about Iran’s insistence that none of its citizens had been arrested in Afghanistan.
Nov. 23, 2004
Other
Condoleeza Rice
Email stating that CWG had spoken with SOUTHCOM about arrangements for access to Guantanamo detainees. It states that once OSD clears the visit request, SOUTHCOM would block off a week for each group to visit.  It notes that SOUTHCOM was aware of ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Email
Gregory M. Suchan, Peter G. Schmeelk , Brent E. Blaschke
These emails concern the coordination of the State Department’s resources in transferring operations of the Joint Interagency Interrogation functions to a new command that will be headed by MG Dunleavy. The new Joint Task Force (JTF-170) will ...
State Department Bureau of Political-Military Affairs cover sheet. No attachment.
This State Department Cable is entitled "Subject: February 2 Transfer of Detainees to Guantanamo". There is no other discernible information or context
This State Department Cable is entitled "Subject: Transfer of Detainees in Afghanistan to Guantanamo Bay". There is no other discernible information or context. There is a handwritten notation on the top of the page that states "Important: Hold ...
State Department cover sheet for a document from the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs entitled "PM Cover Sheet" with Log Number: #106 and designating the Secretary of State as the recipient. The subject title is "Detainee Issues". There is ...
This State Department Cable is entitled "Subject: Detainee Issues". There is no other discernible information or context.
State Department Cable to the overseas US Missions with information and talking points to address questions raised by allies in relation to and over the legal status, treatment and detention of detainees at Guantanamo. Specifically, the cable ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
This State Department Cable is entitled "Subject: January 20 Transfer of Detainees to Guantanamo". There is no other discernible information or context.
This State Department Cable is entitled "Subject: Visit to Qandahar: Focus on Detainees" with no discernible information on its contents.
State Department Talking Points memo on the use of Guantanamo Bay as a detention facility for Al Qaida and Taliban detainees. The memo provides some background information on the decision to use Guantanamo, including the legislative context and ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Donald H. Rumsfeld, Arlen Specter
State Dept. Action Cable drafted by J. Bischoff, providing background and talking points on decision to detain Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees at Guantanamo
State Department Action Cable with talking points about detentions at Guantanamo Bay of Al-Queada terrorists.
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Edward H. Goff

Email from Jason Callen, law clerk to Judge Frank Easterbrook, Seventh Circuit, to Jack Goldsmith and forwarded or blind-copied to Lawan Robinson, Confidential Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice, Office of Legal ...

Sept. 19, 2005
Email
Jason Callen
Jack L. Goldsmith
John C. Yoo, Jack L. Goldsmith, Lawan Robinson, Jason W. Callen

This State Department cable is captioned "Subject: Prosecution of Non-Afghanis Fighting With Al Qaeda Or Taliban" but contains no discernible information on the subject matter.

Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
William E. Landfair

A series of blog posts by a former OLC lawyer, Marty Lederman, discussing the difference between the DOJ's memo on torture from August 2002 and the memo on torture from December 30, 2004 (ACLU-RDI 3547).  The posts conclude that the Bush ...

Questions for Alberto Gonzalez, during his confirmation hearing, including many related to the treatment of detainees

June 01, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Patrick Leahy
Alberto Gonzalez
Alberto R. Gonzales, John D. Ashcroft, Patrick Leahy, George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell, Donald H. Rumsfeld, George J. Tenet

A letter praising the Bush administration for its work addressing the problem of torture and welcoming the Bush administration's statement that the United States will neither torture terrorist suspects nor use cruel and unusual treatment to ...

June 01, 2005
Letter
George W. Bush, William J. Haynes, II, Patrick Leahy