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 (145)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
May 25, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2494
Collection of five (5) sworn statements about abuse in detention facilities in Iraq, attached to ACLU-RDI 2493. None of the statements report witnessing any physical abuse at Abu Ghraib, but all recount claims by detainees of abuse at other ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
George R. Fay
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Sexual, General, Threat, Family/others, Use of phobias, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
June 06, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 2532
Pages 9-11 of a 12-page CID report (0106-04-CID259-80185), consisting of an Agent's investigation Report. A detainee claims that he was "physically abused while at the palace," including being "pulled by his penis, kicked, punched, and hit with a ...
June 30, 2006
Investigative File (CID)
Ali
Physical assault, General, Assault/death, Threat
June 30, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2537
Sworn statement by a Major, who discusses detainee operations. States, "ICDC [Iraqi Civilian Defense Corps] interview techniques were a little rougher than ours and there was a guy that got slapped, so the commander decided not to leave ICDC ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
Assault/death, Use of phobias, Threat
July 01, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2541
Sworn statement by a senior interrogator located at Radwaniya Palace Complex (RPC) from May to September 2003. Discusses interrogation procedures at a Temporary Holding Facility, and states, "Once detainees arrive, they are searched, screened for ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
Threat, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation
June 27, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2548
Sworn statement by a detainee who claimed to have served in the Iraqi Army as a technician. Detainee states that he was handcuffed and had a bag put over his head. He was held "for 17 days" with a bag over his head, "handcuffed to the floor." ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Sexual, General, Threat, Assault/death, Use of electricity, Dietary manipulation
June 26, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2552
Sworn statement by an Iraqi detainee, referring to abuse of the detainee and her brothers and sister at Adamiya. States, "I saw an Iraqi put a bottle in my brother's rectum. There were Iraqi people doing it and Americans watching. There were six ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Sexual, General, Threat, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other Humiliation, Sexual
June 20, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2553

Sworn statement of female Iraqi detainee whose siblings were also held at Adhamiya. States, "I have two sisters and five brothers. One brother died at [redacted]." Detainee was interrogated at Adhamiya palace for four or five days ...

June 30, 2006
Interview (Transcript)
Physical assault, Threat, Use of electricity, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling
July 09, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2558

Statement of Sergeant First Class who served as an interrogator. Describes interrogations, and states that only specific interrogators conduct interrogations. Continues, "Our command has authorization to detain people longer than 72 ...

June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Assault/death, Cramped confinement, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation, Threat, Environmental manipulation
June 30, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2598
Sworn statement of a U.S. Special Forces soldier who interrogated detainees in Tikrit, Iraq between February & May 2004. He is discussing interrogation and detention locations and procedures. States, "[We] used the interrogation techniques ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
Assault/death, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Light or sound, Threat, Environmental manipulation
June 29, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2599
Sworn statement of an Operations Sergeant who discusses interrogation practices. Refers to a detainee, "our number one target," who was captured by Iraqi police, who "beat [redacted] with the pistol to the point where his head was split open in a ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, General, Assault/death, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Threat, Environmental manipulation