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
Nov. 10, 2001 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4754
DOS cover letter for six page document(s) discussing Afghanistan detention of captured persons.
Nov. 23, 2004
Letter
Maura Harty
Maura A. Harty, Frank E. Schmelzer
Nov. 13, 2001 | EOP | ACLU-RDI 3540

Presidential order authorizing detention of individuals and trial by military commission. From http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011113-27.html.

June 01, 2005
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
Nov. 13, 2001 | WH | ACLU-RDI 4377
White House Press Release on the Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism. The memo/press release is broken in to sections that list: Findings; Definition and Policy; Orders and regulations that pertain ...
Dec. 23, 2004
Non-legal Memo, Other
George W. Bush
George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld
Nov. 13, 2001 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4703
This State Department Fact Sheet on the President's establishment of Military Commissions lists talking points on addressing issues and questions that might arise. The points highlight the following: i) The Order applies only to non-U.S. ...
June 08, 2005
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld
Nov. 13, 2001 | WH | ACLU-RDI 4704
Presidential Military Order concerning the Detention, Treatment and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War against Terrorism. The Order is the basis for the authority to apprehend, detain and place on trial via Military Commissions persons who ...
June 08, 2005
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush
George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld
Nov. 15, 2001 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3870
State Department talking points on military tribunals for Prosecution of Terrorists in Military Commissions.
Nov. 15, 2001 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4541

A memo from John Yoo to John Bellinger analyzing whether the President may suspend certain articles of the ABM treaty.  The concludes that in both cases proposed, the president may suspend the articles.

Mar. 02, 2009
Legal Memo
John C. Yoo | Robert J. Delahunty
John Bellinger
John C. Yoo, John B. Bellinger, III, Robert J. Delahunty
Nov. 16, 2001 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3659
Letter refers to an attached memo regarding the historical treatment of detainees. [Letter is not included].
Nov. 23, 2004
Letter
Evan T. Bloom
William J. Haynes, II, Todd F. Buchwald, David W. Bowker, Joshua L. Dorosin, Harry R. Melone, Eric J. Pelofsky, Mary Comfort, Andre M. Surena, David Kay, Evan T. Bloom, Edward R. Cummings
Nov. 26, 2001 | U.S.A. | ACLU-RDI 6519
N/A
Nov. 27, 2001 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4003
Email from Todd Buchwald to David Kaye re: IM to S on Detainee Rights. Detainee Rights attachment not included.
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Todd F. Buchwald
David A. Kaye
Todd F. Buchwald, David A. Kaye