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 (21)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
June 09, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1053
A 17 year-old Iraqi male detainee, Basim Mohammed Hussein, complains of back pain after being beaten by coalition forces. Claims to have been beaten at a house near Al-Adamiya Palace. He was beaten for eight days, including having his head was ...
Apr. 18, 2005
Medical (Physical (non-death))
Basim Mohammed Hussein
Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, General, Use of electricity, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
May 06, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 700
This statement of a CACI civilian contractor hired as a Screener was assigned to Abu Ghraib prison in min-November 2003. He remained there for two (2) months. He states he was not properly trained in the Interrogation Rules of Engagement (IROE) ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Thomas Pappas
Physical assault, General, Use of electricity, Sleep deprivation, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Forced grooming
May 10, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 660
This document is the condensed notes of an interview of at Screener in Abu Ghraib Prison from Mid-December 2003 through January 2004. The interview is a verbatim rendition of the Screener’s statement and it is noted that the statement is to be ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement, Summaries/Notes)
George R. Fay
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, Walling, Sexual, General, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Other
Sept. 22, 2004 | DON | ACLU-RDI 657
Two (2) suspects in the theft from the Iraqi National Guard (ING) Training Camp at Camp Junction City, allege being abused while in custody. Both suspects provided facts "proven to be false and established patterns of not providing the truth". ...
June 28, 2006
Investigative File
Richard F. Natonski
Richard F. Natonski
General, Use of electricity, Cramped confinement, Isolation, Light or sound, Physical assault, Environmental manipulation
Apr. 30, 2004 | DON | ACLU-RDI 655
Marine Corps inquiry in to possible abuse of a detainee on April 13, 2004 at the Al Mahmudiya Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Iraq. Members of the guard force at the Detention Facility were accused of shocking a detainee using a power cord by ...
June 28, 2006
Non-legal Memo, Investigative File (AR 15-6)
James N. Mattis
James N. Mattis
Use of electricity
June 16, 2004 | DON | ACLU-RDI 535
This US Marine Corp spreadsheet lists twenty (20) cases of alleged detainee abuse. The table of cases includes ten (10) substantiated incidents and ten (10) unsubstantiated incidents. The incidents include: beating detainees with fists; holding ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Chart/List
Physical assault, Sexual, General, Threat, Assault/death, Use of electricity
July 08, 2004 | DON | ACLU-RDI 537
This US Marine Corp spreadsheet lists twenty-one (21) cases of alleged detainee abuse. The table of cases includes ten (10) substantiated incidents and eleven (11) unsubstantiated incidents. The incidents include: beating detainees with fists; ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Chart/List
Physical assault, Sexual, General, Threat, Assault/death, Use of electricity
July 02, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 105
Investigations into numerous alleged abuses at Abu Ghraib Prison and Al-Ademeya Palace based on reports from CACI and Titan translation employees. Alleged abuses include the physical beatings and humiliation of various detainees, forced exercise ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
Jacqueline J. Scott, John Peterson
Use of water, Water dousing, Other, Physical assault, Sexual, General, Threat, Assault/death, Family/others, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Forced physical training
Aug. 05, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 99
CID Report of investigation into alleged abuse and sodomy of detainee. Victim was captured on May 4, 2004 “by two males wearing green t-shirts, cargo pants and tan vests, who stated they worked for the Criminal Investigations."He was handcuffed, ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
John Peterson, Jacqueline J. Scott, Nelson van Eck
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, Sexual, General, Threat, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
July 28, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 95
Investigation of assault re-opened. Initial investigation commenced when a Master Sergeant with the 418th Military Police (MP) Detachment located at Camp Bucca, Iraq notified CID that he observed a soldier strike the detainee with an open hand to ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
Jacqueline J. Scott, John Peterson
Physical assault, General, Use of electricity