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 (23)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
May 18, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 667
Sworn statement of sergeant at Abu Ghraib including a description of his surprise that "certain approaches" were acceptable. He witnessed a detainee left in cold temperatures without clothes or a blanket and with untreated wounds. The sergeant ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Thomas Pappas, Barbara G. Fast, Ricardo Sanchez
Use of water, Other, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Forced grooming, Other
May 11, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 716
Unknown interviewee was assigned to AG to establish connectivity of computers. Recalled an incident where an MI explained to an interrogator that a detainee was unavailable for interrogation because he had been interrogated for 10 hrs, stripped ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, General, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other
Jan. 31, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 721
This sworn statement by a Corporal, interrogator assigned to the 325th Military Intelligence Battalion and the 205th Military Intelligence Battalion. Explained that detainees would be brought to him either in handcuffs or not, would request that ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Use of water, Other, Stress positions, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Forced physical training, Other
June 20, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 723
Memo-Interview of a Tiger Team member assigned to the 1st Military Intelligence Battalion, 205th Military Intelligence Brigade. Noted that on an "interrogation plan form there were two columns of procedures listed. The first column listed the ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Use of water, Other, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other
Jan. 21, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 763
Interviewee was assigned to AG as a Member of the Military Intelligence Group (dates unknown). Recalled seeing MPs make detainees perform physical exercise, while yelling at them. This occurred either before a detainee was interrogated, but it ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript, Questionnaire)
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Sleep deprivation, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Forced physical training
May 24, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 846
Interviewee was assigned to AG on October 21 as the Chief of the Terrorist, Foreign Fighters and Extremist element of the JIDC. Interviewee recalled one detainee being handcuffed to the cell bar, which restricted his movement. Interviewee ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Ricardo Sanchez, Thomas Pappas
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation, Forced grooming, Forced physical training
May 25, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 900
This sworn statement is by a civilian contractor with the Titan Corp. assigned to Abu Ghraib prison on October 13, 2003 as a Linguist/Translator to conduct translation services during interrogations at the prison. The translator recalled hearing ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Thomas Pappas
Use of water, Other, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Forced grooming
July 19, 2005 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1534
This document is a response to an inquiry to cases of detainee abuse at Guantanamo. There are eleven (11) cases of substantiated misconduct, the incidents are not listed in chronological order.
July 22, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Other, General, Sexual, Forced physical training, Other, Use of water, Physical assault, Other Humiliation
Sept. 16, 2005 | CID | ACLU-RDI 2250
Criminal Investigation Command (CID) report into allegations of assault, cruelty and maltreatment of a detainee by guards at Abu Ghraib. Among the detainee's allegations, he stated that a US Army Sergeant hung him by his arms from the bars of a ...
Feb. 15, 2006
Investigative File (CID), Photograph
Donald J. Ryder, Thom Jones
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Manipulation of interrogator’s identity, Other
July 14, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 4793

An email from an FBI agent responding to a question about alleged abuse at Guantanamo Bay. The agent stated that he was stationed at Guantanamo Bay from June 2, 2003 to July 17, 2004. During the agent's time at GTMO, he/she occasionally ...

Jan. 02, 2007
Email
Yussef Mohammed Mubarak al Shihri
Use of water, Other, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Other