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 (21)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
May 18, 2004 | Legislative | ACLU-RDI 361

Transcript of the testimony of Richard Armitage, Paul Wolfowitz, and Lt. Gen. Walter Sharp (director of strategic plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff) in regard to plans for the Iraq transfer of sovereignty.

Dec. 31, 2004
Interview (Transcript)
Richard Green Lugar, Richard Lee Armitage, Paul Wolfowitz, Walter L. Sharp, John Dimitri Negroponte, Marc Grossman, L. Paul Bremer, John P. Abizaid, Ricardo Sanchez, David Kay, Charles Timothy Hagel, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Mark Traecey Patrick Kimmitt, Lincoln Davenport Chafee, Condoleeza Rice, Barbara Levy Boxer , Donald H. Rumsfeld, Samuel Dale Brownback, Paul Spyros Sarbanes, Walter L. Sharp, David Petraeus, Thomas F. Metz, George V. Voinovich, Christopher John Dodd, Norman Bertram Coleman, Jr., Richard B. Myers, Bill Nelson, John D. Rockefeller, IV, Jon Stevens Corzine
Physical assault, Sexual, General, Other Humiliation, Sexual
May 18, 2004 | Legislative | ACLU-RDI 3830
The hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee met on May 18, 2004 to continue their ongoing oversight of American policy toward Iraq. The hearing was held in anticipation of the U.S. handing over sovereignty to the Iraqi government six ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Interview (Transcript)
Richard Green Lugar, Richard Lee Armitage, Paul Wolfowitz, Walter L. Sharp, Frank E. Schmelzer , John Dimitri Negroponte, L. Paul Bremer, Marc Grossman, John P. Abizaid, Ricardo Sanchez, Russell Dana Feingold, Carter F. Ham, Charles Timothy Hagel, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Lincoln Davenport Chafee, Barbara Levy Boxer , Samuel Dale Brownback, Mark Traecey Patrick Kimmitt, Paul Spyros Sarbanes, Christopher John Dodd, George V. Voinovich, Norman Bertram Coleman, Jr., Ben Nelson, David Petraeus, Jon Stevens Corzine
May 06, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3992
DOS Memo re: Talking Points on the Iraqi government taking over Abu Ghraib prison and Iraqi Governance in general post the June 30, 2004 turn-over to the Iraqis. The memo states "The Iraqi criminal justice system, including a number of courts, ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush, L. Paul Bremer, Mark Traecey Patrick Kimmitt
May 11, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4008
This email is a copy of the press release of the remarks of Sec. Powell and Foreign Minister Fischer concerning Iraq in the context of a new UN resolution that will be required to move forward to returning full sovereignty back to the Iraqis; ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Jonathan B. Schwartz
Ed Cummings | JoAnn J. Dolan | Todd F. Buchwald
Colin L. Powell, Jonathan B. Schwartz, Edward R. Cummings, JoAnn J. Dolan, Todd F. Buchwald, Condoleeza Rice, Antonio Taguba, L. Paul Bremer, Donald H. Rumsfeld
June 09, 2004 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 4011
A letter from Netta Voutilainen of Amnisty International to Sec. of State Powell expressing concern for Mohammed Jassem 'Abd al-'Issawi, detained in Abu Ghraib since 12/17/03. Ms. Voutilainen askes "to be informed why he has been detained; and I ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Netta Voutilainen
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld, L. Paul Bremer, Bonnie McElveen-Hunter
Mar. 05, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3648
Email refers to the ICRC's February 2004 report on detentions in Iraq. [Content redacted; report not included].
Nov. 23, 2004
Email
Carol T. Santos
Laura Parsky
Carol T. Santos, Laura H. Parsky, Piper Anne Wind Campbell, Lawrence E. Bartlett, Scott W. Busby, Richard L. Greene, P. Michael McKinley, Edward R. Cummings, Joseph P. Cassidy, Margaret J. Pollack, L. Paul Bremer, John Allen Buche
Sept. 30, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4627
This is a State Department talking points memo on how to address the issues of detainees and detainee abuse. It references speeches and interviews that President Bush and other administration officials have given to describe and give context as ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush, Scott McClellan, Mark Traecey Patrick Kimmitt, L. Paul Bremer, Colin L. Powell, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice
May 13, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4639
DOS Note discussing letters sent by UN Rapporteurs asking for explanations regarding allegations of torture at detention facilities in Iraq. Refers to one letter that discusses the detention of four Iraqis allegedly being held incommunicado in Basra.
Nov. 23, 2004
Notes
Kim R. Holmes
Kim R. Holmes, L. Paul Bremer, Jeffrey DeLaurentis
Mar. 24, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4755
DOS Cable regarding a letter from Special Rapporteur on Torture, Theo van Boven, to Ambassador Bremen regarding the detention of four individuals in Basra, Iraq. The letter reports that the detainees are being held incommunicado by the UK ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
L. Paul Bremer, Colin L. Powell, Thomas A. Johnson
Aug. 23, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 4999

This report discusses an investigation into the alleged abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib Detention Facility. The investigation was ordered initially by LTG Ricardo S. Sanchez, Commander, Combined Joint Task Force Seven (CJTF-7). LTG Sanchez ...

Aug. 25, 2004
Oversight Report, Investigative File (AR 15-6)
Ricardo Sanchez, George R. Fay, Paul J. Kern, Anthony R. Jones, Geoffrey D. Miller, Donald J. Ryder, Antonio Taguba, Barbara G. Fast, Walter Wojdakowski, Thomas G. Miller, Janis Leigh Karpinski, Thomas Pappas, Jerry Phillabaum, Ivan L. Frederick, II, Charles A. Graner, Jr., Steven L. Jordan, Carolyn A. Wood, L. Paul Bremer, Colin L. Powell, Robert P. Walters Jr, Marc Warren, Sabrina D. Harman, Romie Leslie Brownlee, Lynndie Rana England, Daniel Kazmier, Franklin D. Raab, Steven Boltz, David M. Price, L. Potter, Dennis E. Stevanus, Aldo Fierro, Varej Filhanessian, George O'Kane, Anthony Cavallaro, David O. Sutton, First Sergeant McBride, Staff Sergeant Hannifan, Staff Sergeant Cole, David W. DiNenna, Sr. , Sergeant Spiker, Darrell Jarred Plude , Joshua R. Claus, Sergeant Presnell, Sergeant Lawson, Michael D. Thompson
Use of water, Water dousing, Other, Physical assault, Walling, Sexual, General, Threat, Assault/death, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Forced grooming, Other