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.
Summarized witness statement of a Sargent who was stationed at Guantanamo from August 2002 to February 2003 as an interrogator, however the Sargent stated that her “time was spent reviewing Memorandums for Record and draft interrogation plans ...
Heavily redacted memo from Joint Task force 160 requesting Joint Detention Operations Group support for an operation. The email authjor states that "This request has been reviewed by my Staff Judge Advocate and determined to be legally sufficient".
The index lists this document as: Shift Log 21 Dec 02. Heavily redacted document. The only visible line states "The detainee ate a complete meal and drank an entire bottle of water...The detainee was taken to the latrine and exercised".
The index lists this document as: Memo for the Record dtd 21 Dec 02. Heavily redacted. Talks about medics taking vital signs of detainees. All normal, but "needed to drink water".
The index lists this document as: Shift Log 23 dec 02. Heavily redacted. "Detainee seen by medic at 21:30 hours. His vitals were normal. Detainee taken to the latrine and exercised a couple of times during the night".
The index lists this document as: Memo for the Record 23 Dec 02. Heavily redacted. "Detainee seen by the medic, vitals normal. Also taken to the latrine and exercised".
The index lists this document as: Shift Log 4 Dec 02. Heavily redacted. The readable parts state: "Source was given a head break and taken for a walk. Seen by medical personnel and given the 'all-clear'. Offered water but refused." "Doctor again ...
The index lists this document as: Memo for the Record. Heavily redacted. The readable parts state: "Medical representative felt it necessary to give the source an IV because the last medical check showed the source was becoming dehydrated". "The ...
The index lists this document as: Shift Log 6 Dec 02. Heavily redacted. The readable parts state "Detainee was taken to the latrine several times...he was also offered water and food but every time he would refuse to eat or drink water". "The ...
The index lists this document as: Shift Log 17 Dec 02. Heavily redacted and the first page appears to be missing. The readable parts of the document state that the detainee was seen by medical personnel; he was given food & water;was taken to ...
The index lists this document as: Interrogation Log 17 Dec 02. It appears to be missing the firs or more pages and is redacted in many places. The document details the checking on the detainee and his consumption of food & water; use of the ...
The index lists this document as: Shift Log. The memo discusses the detainee being offered water, refusing it, going to the latrine and being exercised. The detainee was asked if he was going to try to commit suicide, the detainee stated "no", ...
The index lists this document as: Shift Log 20 Dec 02. The document goes over the times the detainee was being offered water (refusing it); going to the latrine; medical check-ups and being exercised. It states "Doctor spoke with detainee and ...
The index lists this document as: Shift Log 20 Dec 02. The document goes over the times the detainee was being offered water (refusing it); going to the latrine; medical check-ups and being exercised. It states detainee stated that the Saudi ...
The index lists this document as: Shift Log 01 Dec 02. The document goes over the times the detainee was being offered water (refusing it); going to the latrine; medical check-ups and being exercised. It states that the detainee was checked ...
The index lists this document as: Shift Log 20 Dec 02. The document goes over the times the detainee was being offered water (refusing it); going to the latrine; medical check-ups and being exercised. Heavily redacted. Talks about detainee ...
This one page document is listed in the index as: Maj [redacted] Sworn Statement, but this heavily redacted document appears to be more like the Shift Log for Detainees at Guantanamo rather than a Sworn Statement. The document reads as follows: ...
The index lists this document as: Shift Log 13 Dec 02. The document goes over the times the detainee was being offered water (refusing it); going to the latrine; medical check-ups and being exercised. It states Heavily redacted. Talks about ...
Medical Exam of a detainee at Guantanamo. Heavily redacted medical report from January 16, 2003. The report concludes that the detainee has suffered no injuries or trauma.
Memo in response to a request for information concerning the effectiveness of interrogation techniques approved by the Secretary of Defense. These techniques went beyond those permitted by the Army Field Manual. The heavily redacted memo includes ...
Heavily redacted memorandum regarding a detainee and mentions the detainee's arrest in Mauritania in 2001 and eventual transfer to Bagram Air Force Base, as well as the opening of the interrogation with the detainee being asked if he was hungry; ...
Heavily redacted memorandum regarding a detainee. The memo mentions the detainee's arrest in Mauritania in 2001 and eventual transfer to Bagram Air Force Base.
This index lists this document as: LTC [redacted] email 22 Dec 04 containing ISN [redacted] Allegations but is also emboldened with "Attorney work-product" written on its first page. The memo addresses allegations related to incidents that took ...
The index lists this document as: Memo for the Record dtd 17 July 03. The heavily redacted memo mentions the detainee's arrest in Mauritania in 2001 and eventual transfer to Bagram Air Force Base.
These notes are a synopsis of points the British government raised with Sec. State Powell concerning the living conditions of detainees at Guantanamo. The Notes detail talking points and matters covered in Sec. State Powell's response to the ...
A detainee at Guantanamo attempted suicide in his cell by hanging himself. He was rescued and lives saving measures were effective, however, the detainee suffered irreversible damage. This memo is a detail of the detainee’s condition and a ...
This DOD memo is a list of talking points about the release of detainees; how they may be relocated by Al Qaeda and debriefed; and how to address press inquiries about the release of detainees. For this reason, the US Gov't will not make public ...
This email between State Department officials contains several attachments concerning their transfer of detainees to Guantanamo. The document is heavily redacted.
Letter from Kenneth Roth, the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch to Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld asking that U.S. government release all detainees from Guantanamo Bay. Mr. Roth states detaining persons at Guantanamo Bay violates ...
This fax contains a response letter to The Human Rights watch Ex. Dir. Kenneth Roth addressing his points made in an earlier letter to Sec. Def. Rumsfeld about releasing Taliban armed forces from Guantanamo since the war in Afghanistan is ...