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 (13)

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Feb. 07, 2002 | WH | ACLU-RDI 4684
This White House memo discusses the treatment of detainees taken in the War on Terror and how they are to be classified and the determination of their legal status.
June 08, 2005
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush
Richard B. Cheney | Colin L. Powell | Donald H. Rumsfeld | John D. Ashcroft | I. Lewis Libby | George Tenet | Condoleeza Rice
George W. Bush, Richard B. Cheney, Colin L. Powell, John D. Ashcroft, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, I. Lewis Libby, George J. Tenet
Sept. 02, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4672
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
Feb. 07, 2002 | WH | ACLU-RDI 201
This is a memo from President Bush to the Vice President and other key administration personnel stating that "none of the provisions of Geneva apply to our conflict with al Qaeda in Afghanistan or elsewhere throughout the world because, among ...
Apr. 06, 2005
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush
Richard B. Cheney | Colin L. Powell | Donald H. Rumsfeld
George W. Bush, Richard B. Cheney, Colin L. Powell, John D. Ashcroft, George J. Tenet
June 13, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4457
State department Memo from Ambassador Pierre-Richard Prosper to Secretary Powell with requesting approval on reply to Edward Davey Member of the UK House of Commons re: his concerns about detainees. Approval was given.
Jan. 12, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Pierre-Richard Prosper
Colin L. Powell
Pierre-Richard Prosper, Colin L. Powell
May 01, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3782
State Department memo on a meeting Amb. Prosper had with International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) President Kellenberger concerning a certain detainee and the need for "public knowledge" of discussions on his status to address concerns ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Ed Cummings
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper, Edward R. Cummings, William Howard Taft, IV, Beth Jones
Dec. 11, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3976
Memo summarizing request from the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) to meet and discuss the treatment of detainees and other humanitarian concerns. Recommends meeting in mid-January.
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Arthur E. Dewey
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Arthur E. Dewey , Condoleeza Rice, Paula J. Dobriansky, William Howard Taft, IV, Paul Wolfowitz
Mar. 26, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3978
DOS Memo from William H. Taft to Secretary of State Powell re: Photographing POWs and the Geneva Conventions. Summary redacted. Discussion explores the US position on photographing and/or releasing photographs of POWs.
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
William Howard Taft, IV
Colin L. Powell
William Howard Taft, IV, Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper, Edward R. Cummings, JoAnn J. Dolan, Joshua L. Dorosin, Ronald W. Miller, Steven A. Solomon
Apr. 21, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4269
State Department memo on an upcoming visit by the Swedish Prime Minister. The memo provides background to assist the President in preparing for this meeting.
Dec. 17, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Henry Bisharat
Colin L. Powell
George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell, Henry Bisharat, Bridget A. Brink, Heather A. Conley
DOS | ACLU-RDI 3605
Memo states that a number of non-governmental agencies filed a petition before the IACHR, in which they alleged that the U.S. violated international law by mistreating Guantanamo detainees. In response to the allegations, the IACHR issued to the ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Non-legal Memo
William Howard Taft, IV | Otto J. Reich | Roger F. Noriega
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, William Howard Taft, IV, Otto J. Reich, Roger F. Noriega, Frank E. Schmelzer , Mary P. Stickles
Feb. 25, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3621
State Department memo discussing a recent petition filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) against the U.S.. The CCR's petition alleges that the U.S. government's treatment ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Otto J. Reich | Roger F. Noriega
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Otto J. Reich, Roger F. Noriega, Frank E. Schmelzer
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