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 (5977)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Mar. 08, 2007 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 6815
This is a chart which lists 384 detainees of the US government; everything but their names, the dates of ARB completion, and their home countries are redacted.
July 27, 2005 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 6814
This memo from Donald Rumsfeld to Stephen Hadley, Cheney, Gonzales, Rice, and Dan Bartlett provides a set of metrics for detention operations through July 20, 2005.
Dec. 15, 2009
Non-legal Memo
Donald H. Rumsfeld
Stephen Hadley
Richard B. Cheney, Alberto R. Gonzales, Condoleeza Rice, Daniel Bartlett
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
May 27, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6798
A letter from Jack Goldsmith to Scott Muller regarding the CIA Inspector General's Special Review of the CIA's interrogation program. The letter expresses concern at the fact that, according to the Special Review, aspects of the CIA's ...
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo
Jack L. Goldsmith
Scott W. Muller
Jack L. Goldsmith, Scott W. Muller, John A. Rizzo
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding
Sept. 06, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6797
Letter from Daniel Levin to John Rizzo discussing whether the use of twelve interrogation techniques in the interrogation of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani would violate any U.S. statute, the U.S. Constitution, or any treaty obligation of the U.S.
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo
Daniel B. Levin
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Daniel B. Levin
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani
EIT, Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Nudity
Aug. 31, 2006 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6796
A letter providing legal advice regarding whether the conditions of detention at certain overseas CIA facilities are consistent with the applicable standards of the DTA. It concludes that the conditions of confinement did not constitute "cruel, ...
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Steven G. Bradbury
EIT, Cramped confinement, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Forced grooming, Other Humiliation
May 30, 2005 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6795
An OLC memo addressing whether certain enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA are consistent with the United States's obligations under Article 16 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading ...
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Steven G. Bradbury, Daniel B. Levin, Jay S. Bybee, Jack L. Goldsmith, Scott W. Muller, George J. Tenet
Janat Gul, Hassan Ghul, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Abd Al-Rahim Al-Nashiri
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Nudity
Sept. 20, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6794
An OLC memo to the CIA addressing whether the use of "twelve particular interrogation techniques (attention grasp, walling, facial hold, facial slap (insult slap), cramped confinement, wall standing, stress positions, sleep deprivation, dietary ...
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo
Daniel B. Levin
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Daniel B. Levin
Sharif al-Masri
EIT, Use of water, Water dousing, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Nudity, Physical assault
Sept. 20, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6793
An OLC memo to the CIA addressing whether the use of "twelve particular interrogation techniques (attention grasp, walling, facial hold, facial slap (insult slap), cramped confinement, wall standing, stress positions, sleep deprivation, dietary ...
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo
Daniel B. Levin
John A. Rizzo
Feb. 15, 2008 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6791
Index of DOJ advice on interrogations, including OLC memos, letters, testimony.
Aug. 31, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Alberto Gonzalez, John A. Rizzo, Jay Bybee, John C. Yoo, William "Jim" Haynes, Scott W. Muller, Jack L. Goldsmith, Patrick Philbin, John McLaughlin, John Ashcroft, Daniel B. Levin, James B. Comey, William E. Moschella, Steven Bradbury, John B. Bellinger, III, Ron Lee Wyden, Brian A. Benczkowski