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 (683)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Feb. 02, 2002 | NSC | ACLU-RDI 6823
This document contains a chart labeled "Detainees-Limited Access" from the National Security Council Distribution Receipt West Wing Desk. The chart contains a list of government officials under the "addressee" column.
May 15, 2012
Chart/List
Richard B. Cheney, Colin L. Powell, Donald H. Rumsfeld, John D. Ashcroft, Andrew Card, George J. Tenet, Richard B. Myers
Feb. 07, 2002 | WH | ACLU-RDI 6822
This February 7, 2002 memorandum announces to the vice president, secretary of state, attorney general, CIA director, and others that the President accepts the legal conclusions of the Department of Justice that the Geneva Conventions do not ...
May 15, 2012
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush
Richard B. Cheney
Colin L. Powell, Condoleeza Rice, Jay B. Stephens, Andrew Card, George J. Tenet, Richard B. Myers
Aug. 16, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6821
This document contains a citizen's letter to President Bush voicing disapproval that Afghan prisoners are not treated like prisoners of war and includes an attached article from the San Francisco Chronicle. The document also contains an August ...
May 15, 2012
Letter
George W. Bush
Anne Crowther
Feb. 28, 2002 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 6804
This memorandum authored by Bruce Jessen and others to Col. Coomey on February 28, 2002 includes specific recommendations for interrogation procedures based on conditions at Camp X-Ray. The memorandum contains "Cardinal Pre-Conditions for ...
Feb. 03, 2017
Non-legal Memo
Bruce Jessen
Bruce Jessen
EIT, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Other Humiliation
Apr. 01, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6803
This Joint Personnel Recovery Agency Draft Exploitation Plan crafted by Bruce Jessen and others in 2002 proposed the creation of a secret military interrogation facility abroad. The plan details personnel requirements, strategies for ...
Non-legal Memo
Bruce Jessen
EIT, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation
Mar. 01, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6802
These slides contain part two of a two-part presentation given by Dr. Bruce Jessen to future interrogators at Guantanamo Bay on how to overcome Al-Qa'ida Resistance based on "recently obtained Al-Qa'ida Documents."
Feb. 03, 2017
Chart/List, Other
Bruce Jessen
EIT, Threat, Isolation, Other Humiliation, Other
Mar. 01, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6801
These slides contain part one of a two-part presentation given by Dr. Bruce Jessen to future interrogators at Guantanamo Bay on how to overcome Al-Qa'ida Resistance based on "recently obtained Al-Qa'ida Documents."
Feb. 03, 2017
Chart/List, Other
Bruce Jessen
EIT, Threat, Assault/death, Family/others, Isolation, Other Humiliation, Other
Aug. 01, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6792
An OLC memo concluding that the CIA’s proposed interrogation plan for Abu Zubaydah — which contemplates methods including “insects placed in a confinement box” and “the waterboard” — does not violate the torture statute.
Apr. 24, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6789
This April 2002 cable provides an updated interrogation plan for Abu Zubaydah, which includes descriptions of the physical environment, security measures, and interrogation process, including the use of interrogation techniques.
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
Abu Zubaydah
Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature
May 01, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6784
This CIA e-mail contains a summary of Dr. James Mitchell's experience and education.
Dec. 20, 2016
Email
James Mitchell
SERE