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)

Detainees were involved in an argument and physical altercation that involved punching and throwing fruit. Actions taken in response were complete segregation and complete loss of comfort items.
Second report of the incident that was recorded in ACLU-RDI 602. Detainees were involved in an argument and physical altercation that involved punching and throwing fruit. Actions taken in response were complete segregation and complete loss of ...
DOS Memo re: Background on Detainee Policy. This is part of a larger memo that is not attached herein. The background information contained here states: On November 13, 2001, President Bush issued a Military order authorizing the detention of ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld
This email contains a letter from Marilyn A. Dorn, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), General Counsel's Office (GC), concerning four (4) legal cases: 1) United States v. CW3 Welshofer; 2) United States v. CW2 Williams; 3) United States v. SPC ...
Email, Letter
Marilyn A. Dorn
Marilyn A. Dorn
The document is an untitled letter from a detainee alleging abuse by the American military. The detainee states that he was questioned about the role of Iraqi intelligence in furthering international terrorism and about where Iraq had hidden its ...
The document is a fax cover sheet for 20 pages (including cover) faxed to the FBI in New York.
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

A document production cover letter from the DOJ and the Navy Criminal Investigative Service to the ACLU, discussing the release of approximately 300 pages of documents in response to the ACLU's FOIA request.

Nov. 30, 2004
Letter, Judicial
Sean H. Lane
Sean H. Lane, Peter M. Skinner, David N. Kelley, N.M. Brock

A fax (sent January 15, 2005) from the CIA to the OLC of the December 2004 OMS Guidelines on Medical and Psychological Support to Detainee Rendition, Interrogation, and Detention. The document is heavily redacted but describes the enhanced ...

The document is an internal FBI email regarding a detainee's allegation of experiencing abusive treatment from two FBI agents in Afghanistan.