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.
Recommendation from an official of the Detention Review Authority regarding the status of a detainee. Classifies detainee as a "security detainee" and orders that the detainee be interned, based on information that detainee may have "participated ...
Letter addressed to a detainee, giving the basis for his detention (participation in attacks on Coalition Forces) and informing him of his rights (right to appeal under Art. 78 of Geneva Convention).
This Detainee Tracking form is for a redacted detainee listed as a "Security Internee" and "Interned". The detainee was captured in a raid on a village. He admits to being part of a Fedayeen cell, but claims he was only there to gather intel for ...
AR 15-6 investigation regarding allegations of abuse by two detainees. Memos appointing the AR 15-6 investigating officer request that the officer find out whether detainees were taken from the facility, and if so, by whom. First detainee, who ...
Summary of findings of inquiry into the death of a detainee on January 9, 2004, at Al Asad Air Base. Detainee, probably named Asad, was captured on January 4, 2004 and held at a Temporary Tactical Holding Facility (TTHF) at Al Asad Air Base. On ...
Record of proceedings under Article 15 UCMJ, to evaluate whether a soldier attached to 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group should be punished under Article 15 for assaulting a detainee at Ar Ramadi. Lists allegations that soldier was "cruel ...
Records of JAGMAN investigation Preliminary Inquiry into the death of Farhad Mohamed Ali. Includes a summary of the finings and a series of the emails regarding the status of the investigation, as well as CID records. Summary of findings states ...
Report on an AR 15-6 inquiry into treatment of a detainee captured by a SEAL team in January 2004. This is the conclusions and findings of the investigator. Several soldiers state that SEALs performed a battlefield interrogation, during which ...
Sworn statement of Chief Warrant Officer 2 attached to a Memo for Record dated August 7, 2004. Talks about detention procedures and time limits on detentions. States that the ODA "could request an extension through the AOB. I only recall this ...
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 of a commander, of Lieutenant Colonel Concerning Detainee Interrogation Policy, with attached emo for Record dated August 7, 2004. Statement says that CJSOTF Policy provided "clear guidance" on "the types of interrogations that we ...
Statement of Commander of Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 10 Special Forces Group, attached to Memo for Record dated August 7, 2004. Mentions allegations of abuse, and states, "I am not familiar with the individuals making these allegations.... I ...
Statement of detainee captured by Special Forces and taken to a place that he believed belonged to the CIA. States that he was held in a box "one meter long and one meter high," given no food for three days, and prevented from sleeping by "loud ...
Sworn statement of a Major concerning the instructions to he gave to his soldiers on handling detainees once captured, and discussing regulations concerning paperwork for detention and detention time limits. States, "The longest I think we would ...
Sworn statement of Statement of Sergeant Major Concerning Detainee Interrogation Operations at Rawaniya Palace Complex Baghdad and discussing detention policies. States, "The CISOF and FOB detainee policy was to do field interrogation, process ...
Sworn statement of a detainee. States that, following his capture on April 27, 2004, he was put in a compartment so small that he could only sit in it. States he was severely beaten in an attempt to force a confession, threatened with rape, ...
Sworn statement of a detainee. States that following his capture, he was held for two and a half days in a box too small for him to stand. States, "I couldn't sleep in two days. They were playing very loud Western music, like rock music." States ...
Sworn statement of a U.S. Special Forces soldier who interrogated detainees in Tikrit, Iraq between February & May 2004. He is discussing interrogation and detention locations and procedures. States, "[We] used the interrogation techniques ...
Sworn statement of an Operations Sergeant who discusses interrogation practices. Refers to a detainee, "our number one target," who was captured by Iraqi police, who "beat [redacted] with the pistol to the point where his head was split open in a ...
Sworn statement of an Iraqi Civilian concerning an Iraqi woman and her two (2) brothers who are involved in anti-coalition activities. The statement claims that the woman is the "mastermind" of the terrorist cell and her two brothers are aligned ...