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 (22)

State Department cable concerning the applicability of the Geneva Conventions to the Guantanamo detainees. The cable states that a determination on the legal status of the Guantanamo detainees and the applicability of the Geneva conventions to ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell

Cable discusses many issues, including an issue of selling arms to countries with histories of supporting terrorism or regional conflict.

Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Sharon E. Ahmad, George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell, Richard Lee Armitage
State Department cable distributes transcript from the February 27, 2002 press conference where a variety of subjects were addressed. Among the issued raised were: i) Lori Berenson's conviction upheld in Peru; ii) the status of detainees in ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell
This State Department cable provides Washington with a round-up of a press briefing held in China where Chinese government officials were questioned about world affairs. Al-Qaeda's role with Chinese separatists; Pakistan; and the Middle East ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush
Cable is a message from the President expressing the U.S. government's concern about the economic crisis Argentina is currently facing. The President also stated that the U.S. stands ready to assist/support Argentina. Also, a press guidance is ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
George W. Bush, Sharon E. Ahmad
The memo appears to be the Press Secretary's talking points for a press statement. The statement appears to address the President's stance on treating detainees according to the principles of the Geneva Convention.
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Ari Fleischer
George W. Bush, Ari Fleischer, Charles L. Daris
White House Press Release on the status of detainees at Guantanamo with a fact sheet from the on the treatment, housing, access and medical treatment of detainees. The press release makes a specific point of stating "neither the Taliban nor ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Other
George W. Bush
Press release from the Office of the White House Press Secretary, discussing the status of Taliban and Al-Qaeda detainees at Guantanamo. The press release outlines that detainees are not POWs and while they will be treated humanely and in ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Other
Ari Fleischer, George W. Bush
This White House memo describes U.S. policy toward detainees at Guantanamo.  States that they are not entitled to POW treatment but that they are treated humanely and given many of the protections that POWs are given.

June 01, 2005
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
The interviewed detainee stated he had just been released from the fleet hospital approximately 30 minutes before the interview started. The detainee was specifically asked the questions regarding force protection. Asked if he knew or had ...
May 18, 2005
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
George W. Bush