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)

Army press release detailing the non-judicial punishmment for three soldiers found guilty of abusing four Iraqi detainees.
May 16, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Ennis Whitehead, III
Proposed press release about detainee abuse in Iraq. Packet includes an article from CNN.com about the Abu Ghraib photos, a release from the Coalition Forces Office of Public Affairs announcing the initiation of an investigation into detainee ...
May 16, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Ricardo Sanchez, Antonio Taguba, Donald J. Ryder
Proposed Statement concerning the Baghdad Confinement Facility Detainee Abuse and an announcement of a criminal investigation surrounding the detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib.
May 16, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Ricardo Sanchez
Army talking points on the abuse allegations at Abu Ghraib prison. Provides basic information about the Abu Ghraib investigation for speaking with the press.
May 16, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Antonio Taguba, David D. McKiernan, Donald J. Ryder
Informs recipients of a Detainee Operations Assessment/Assistance team that is being formed and will visit detainee related operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Correspondence about the creation of the Detainee Operations Assessment/Assistance team. Function areas include doctrine, accountability, documentation, training, tactical level, force protection, detainee release procedures, physical ...
May 16, 2005
Email
David D. McKiernan
Questions for an interrogator in preparation of his interview of a detainee who was assaulted during a helicopter transport. Detainee is unnamed and report not connected to any investigation. The memo states the purpose of the report was to ...
May 16, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Physical assault
Transcipt of a detainee report of abuse. Detainee unnamed and report not connected to any investigation. Detainee was beaten while transported in a helicopter. Appears to be a different detainee from ACLU RDI 1212.
May 16, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Physical assault
Instructions for protecting detainees and soldiers from lice, ticks, etc.
Standard Operating Procedures for when a detainee dies in custody, including how to report to chain of command and how to document the death.
E-mail discusses the compilation of a list of all detainees at Camp Bucca separated by offense. There are twenty-three (23) pages of detainee names sequentially listed by prisoner number, but all names redacted. ACLU RDI 1217 contains the ...
List of detainees in Iraq to be reviewed. All names redacted. This document is the attachment to ACLU RDI 1216.
Coalition Provisional Authority Ministry of Justice list of Iraqi Prisoners being released. All names redacted. The email mentions that eighty-four (84) prisoners at Camp Bucca were authorized for release. It also mentions the Rusafa Facility. ...
Coalition Provisional Authority Ministry of Justice list of Iraqi Prisoners being released. The release policy is clarified in this email. Camp Bucca, Camp Cropper and Abu Ghraib prison are all mentioned. All names redacted. The email also ...
May 16, 2005
Email
Janis Leigh Karpinski
Basic information about detention procedures in Iraq. Includes a list of detention centers, counts of detainees currently held, and manuals that proscribe detainee treatment.
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.
May 13, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
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.
May 09, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
State Department fax from Debra Long the DOS UN & Legal Programme Officer to Amb. Moley forwarding a letter from the Association Against Torture to President Bush.
May 09, 2005
Letter
Debra Long
Kevin Edward Moley
Kevin Edward Moley, George W. Bush, Debra Long
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.
May 09, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
This State Department Cable is entitled "Subject: Reports of Detainee Abuse in Afghanistan to Hit U.S. Press." No further information; no other content.
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.
May 09, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
Email from Alexander Karagiannis to State Department officials forwarding a letter from the Guantanamo detainees. Mr. Karagiannis' comments are "Please share with legal comunity. NSC has said it has not yet seen the letter from its mail system. ...
This letter is from Shafiq Rasul and Asif Iqbal, two former Guantanamo detainees. The letter is on the letterhead of the Centre for Constitutional Rights and states that
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.
May 09, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
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.
May 09, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
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.
May 09, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
This State Department email from Keith Loken forwards several attachements concerning the "Iraq Strategic Transition Plan Matrix" to other State Department officials. Attachements not included.
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.
May 04, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
This cable contains talking points to address the status of these citizens being held at Guantanamo. The cable goes on to state; 1) The U.S. government cannot address specific questions about specific detainees at this time; 2) all detainees are ...
Discussion of the President's classification of six detainees as enemy combatants. Discusses the government's treatment of individuals classified as enemy combatants and how they will be tried, if tried.
May 04, 2005
Cable
Ronald W. Miller
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.
May 04, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
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.
May 04, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
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.
May 04, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
State Department memorandum providing background on the Prime Minister's agenda and visit with President Bush at Camp David.
May 04, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Elizabeth Jones
Colin L. Powell
George W. Bush
State Department email with attached press guidance concerning the possible release of some Guantanamo detainees.
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.
May 04, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
State Department email concerning a meeting of the Army General Counsel and a briefing on the legal status and possible release of the Guantanamo detainees.
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.
May 04, 2005
Letter, Judicial
Margaret P. Grafeld
Margaret P. Grafeld
Ms. Sanford attacheda document with notes on the Guantanamo detainee issue from the American Bar Association meeting of February 24, 2004 with the following comment: "Marc Bonora (an attorney at Kirkland Ellis and classmate of mine) and I ...
White House memo from Alberto R. Gonzalez, Counsel to the President, concerning detention Issues in the War on Terrorism.
May 04, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Alberto Gonzalez
George W. Bush
George W. Bush, Alberto R. Gonzales, Donald H. Rumsfeld
Yaser Esam Hamdi, Jose Padilla
State Department email forwarded by JoAnn Dolan from Robert Harris concerning Human Rights Watch report critical of U.S. Action in Afghanistan. Mr. Harris' email has the comment "Human Rights Watch in the past few days issued a highly critical ...
This is a June 2000 manual for JAG Officers.
Soldier's Manual and Trainer's Guide for MOS 95C. Corrections Specialist, Skill Level 1.
This document contains the medical records from numerous detainees during the Summer and Fall of 2003. The records are not separated to distinguish from one patient to another. However, the records cover the medical treatment of numerous Iraqi ...
Describes investigation into alleged misconduct by an officer. Allegations include assault and threatening to kill a detainee. The officer was removed from command and subject to Article 32 investigation and hearing.
Apr. 30, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Ricardo Sanchez, Raymond T. Odierno
Soldier's Manual and trainer's Guide for MOS 31E; MOS 95C, Corrections Specialist, Skill Levels 2/3/4.
Army Enemy Prisoner of War and Detainee Guide. Includes Legal Obligations to EPW and list of definitions
Military newspaper with an article on the marines MPs to train on the handling and detention of Enemy Prisoners of War.
AR 15-6 report on the proceeding against a soldier (name redacted) who was accused of contributing to the death of an Iraqi detainee. The matter was transferred to Ft. Hood from Iraq.
Apr. 18, 2005
Investigative File
Raymond T. Odierno
Other