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 (55)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
May 13, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4337
State Department cable to the U.S. Mission in Venna to deliver remarks of Sec. Powell to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe May 13, 2003. The points to make are i) The Military Commissions will be impartial; ii) there is a ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush
Mar. 21, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4322
State Department cable concerning the procedures for U.S. Military commissions that may be established to try suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrrorists. This State Department cable provides talking points for US mission & Embassy officials to ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush
Feb. 08, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4321
State Department cable stating that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters are enemy combatants and will not be afforded the Geneva Conventions, but will be treated humanely and in accordance with the principles of the Geneva Convention. "The U.S. is ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell
Feb. 13, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4306
Email from Betsy Lippman to State Department officers concerning discussions with the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) legal division in a follow-up to discussions with ICRC President Kellenberger. The email is heavily redacted.
Dec. 17, 2004
Email
Bessy A. Lippman
Edward R. Cummings | David W. Bowker | Alan Kreczko | Arthur E. Dewey | James B. Foley | Kevin Edward Moley | Michael T. Peay | Nicholas M. Miscione | Dona R. Tarpey | Douglas Hunter
Michael T. Peay, Edward R. Cummings, David W. Bowker, Alan Kreczko, Douglas Hunter, Arthur E. Dewey , James B. Foley, Kevin Edward Moley, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Nicholas M. Miscione, George W. Bush
May 13, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4276
Press release of trancript of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell On BBC TV with Huw Edwards. Sec. Powell discusses Iraq; Abu Ghraib prison abuse; and the President Bush & UK PM Blair relationship..
Dec. 17, 2004
Email
Sara A. Stryker
George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Richard B. Myers, Sara A. Stryker
May 13, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4274

Press release of trancript of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell On BBC TV with Huw Edwards. Sec. Powell discusses Iraq; Abu Ghraib prison abuse; and the President Bush & UK PM Blair relationship.

Dec. 17, 2004
Other
Colin L. Powell, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Richard B. Myers, George W. Bush
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
June 14, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4256
State Department cable concerning several press reports focusing on the situation in Iraq and Saudi Araiba. International media attention focused on human rights issues, specifically Abu Graib and the killing of civilians in U.S. air strikes and ...
Dec. 20, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell
Feb. 07, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4232
DOS Cable re: President Bush Making a Decision on the Legal Status of the Guantanamo Detainees. The cable also mentions Sec. of Def. meeting with UK Def. minister Hoon, and a British TV show called "The American Embassy".
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld
Feb. 11, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4233
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