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 (47)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Nov. 29, 2004 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 6328
The document is an untitled letter from a detainee alleging abuse by the American military. The detainee states that he was questioned about the role of Iraqi intelligence in furthering international terrorism and about where Iraq had hidden its ...
June 15, 2011
Letter
Physical assault, General, Walling, Assault/death, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Threat, Environmental manipulation
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
July 08, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 92
CID Report of investigation into detainee's allegations of abuse while in U.S. custody at Mosul Airport, Iraq, over three day period. The detainee claimed to have sustained a bruise to his left shoulder and scratched during his capture. Once in ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
Jacqueline J. Scott, John Peterson
Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Walling, General, Threat, Assault/death, Family/others, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling
June 13, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 826
Interviewee was a detainee at AG on or around December 2003. The detainee stated that "[w]hen I arrived, I was handcuffed and had a sandbag over my head." The detainee continued, "the treatment at Abu Ghraib was not bad and I was never hit in ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Physical assault, Walling, General, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling
June 12, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 696
Interview of a civilian contractor with the Titan Corp. assigned to Abu Ghraib prison as an interrogator. The gentleman recalls several incidents of detainees being inappropriately treated before, during and after interrogations. He specifically ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Walling, General, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
June 04, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 694
Contract interrogator from CACI assigned to Abu Ghraib from November 23, 2003 to the end of January 2004. The Interrogator stated "I never personally used or saw dogs being used in interrogations. My impression was that the dogs were used as an ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Walling, General, Threat, Family/others, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Nudity, Other
Mar. 24, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 2531
Documents related to CID Investigations 0233-03-CID259-61217 and 0022-04-CID149-. Includes two Agent's Investigative Reports and a translation of a statement provided by a detainee. The first Agent's Investigative report summarizes interviews ...
June 30, 2006
Investigative File (CID)
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Walling, Sexual, General, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling
Mar. 02, 2004 | CIA-OGC | ACLU-RDI 4565

A letter from the CIA to OLC requesting that the OLC reaffirm its analyses in several previously issued memos relating to interrogation.  The letter states that "we rely on the applicable law and OLC guidance to assess the lawfulness ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo, Letter
Scott W. Muller
Jack L. Goldsmith
Scott W. Muller, Jack L. Goldsmith, John C. Yoo, Alberto R. Gonzales, Jay S. Bybee, John A. Rizzo
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other
Mar. 02, 2004 | CIA-OGC | ACLU-RDI 6608
A letter from the CIA to OLC requesting that the OLC reaffirm its analyses in several previously issued memos relating to interrogation. The letter states that "we rely on the applicable law and OLC guidance to assess the lawfulness of detention ...
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo, Letter
Scott W. Muller
Jack L. Goldsmith
Jack L. Goldsmith, Scott W. Muller, Alberto R. Gonzales, Jay S. Bybee, John A. Rizzo
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other
Jan. 20, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 765
Interviewee was in AG approximately August 23, 2003 as a member of the Internal Reaction Force. Observed an MI yell at a detainee and hit the detainee in the back of the head with a closed fist. Also, observed another MI soldier put a ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript, Questionnaire)
Physical assault, Walling, General, Use of phobias, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity