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 (54)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
NSC | ACLU-RDI 6597
This National Security Council memo discusses the use of the CIA's proposed EITs in the interrogation of high-value al Qaeda detainees. The memo divides the proposed EITs into two categories, "conditioning" and "corrective" and concludes that ...
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo
EIT, SERE, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Nudity
OLC | ACLU-RDI 6790
This memo discusses and summarizes the OLC opinions issued in 2002 and 2003 about the legal standards for interrogations of detainees.
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo, Non-legal Memo
Abu Zubaydah
EIT
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
Mar. 02, 2004 | ACLU-RDI 6514
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 ...
June 13, 2016
Legal Memo, Letter
CIA General Counsel
Jack Goldsmith
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Stomach/abdominal slap, Environmental manipulation, Temperature
Feb. 15, 2006 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 5000

A State Department memo addressing whether Article 16 of the Convention Against Torture applies to the CIA's interrogations in foreign countries. The State Department determined that the prohibitions against torture do apply, despite its ...

Apr. 03, 2012
Legal Memo
Phillip Zelikow
Phillip Zelikow
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Nudity
July 20, 2007 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4552

An OLC memo addressing whether the CIA may use 6 "enhanced interrogation techniques" in the interrogation of high value detainees: (1) dietary manipulation, (2) extended sleep deprivation, (3) facial hold, (4) attention grasp, (5) ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Steven G. Bradbury, John McCain, Duncan Lee Hunter, Patrick Leahy, Jesse Francis Bingaman, Jr., Hillary Clinton, John Warner, Richard J. Durbin, Christopher H. Shays, Patrick Philbin, Michael Hayden, Condoleeza Rice, Antonio Taguba
Abd al Hadi al Iraqi, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Jose Padilla, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri
EIT, SERE, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Assault/death, Use of electricity, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Nudity, Sexual, Use of water, Threat, Other Humiliation