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 (27)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
June 25, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 2204
Email includes notes from a May 7, 2004 Senate Armed Services Committee, which summarizes the incidents which led to the death of Iraqi Major General and detainee Abed Hamed Mowhoush.
Feb. 15, 2006
Email
John McCain, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Richard B. Myers, Romie Leslie Brownlee, Peter Schoomaker, Bradley T. Smith
Abed Hamed Mowhoush
Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Other
July 31, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3529
Email updates recipient of the current environment in Guantanamo, during the author's assignment there, he/she has observed approximately twelve interrogations. He/she observed or learned of the following techniques being used by the Defense ...
Feb. 06, 2006
Email
Stress positions, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Manipulation of interrogator’s identity, Other
July 31, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3534
Email updates recipient of the current environment in Guantanamo, during the author's assignment there, he/she has observed approximately twelve interrogations. He/she observed or learned of the following techniques being used by the Department ...
Feb. 06, 2006
Email
Stress positions, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Manipulation of interrogator’s identity, Other
Aug. 31, 2004 | DOA | OJAG | ACLU-RDI 467

An email between members of the Staff Judge Advocate, forwarding a Washington Post article titled "Documents Helped Sow Abuse, Army Report Finds," from August 30, 2004.

Mar. 23, 2005
Email
Ricardo Sanchez, Paul J. Kern, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Alberto Mora, Geoffrey D. Miller, George W. Bush, John P. Abizaid, George R. Fay, Thomas Pappas
Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Religious
May 13, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3842

Email includes news articles about high level detainees, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Abu Zubaydah and the "harsh" interrogation methods the CIA employs. The email includes another article, which reports specific accounts of abuse.

Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Jonathan B. Schwartz
Katherine M. Gorove | Michael J. Dennis
George W. Bush, Jonathan B. Schwartz, Katherine M. Gorove, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Frank E. Schmelzer , Michael J. Dennis, Mark P. Lagon, Lorne Craner, Michael G. Kozak, Miriam K. Hughes, Janice A. Smith
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Walid Bin Attash
Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Forced grooming
June 23, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3849
Emails discuss the Department of Defenses' recent release of documents, the documents apparently explained the types of interrogation techniques the U.S. employed in Guantanamo. However, the documents are being criticized as insufficient. The ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Ed Cummings
JoAnn J. Dolan | Todd F. Buchwald | Joshua L. Dorosin | Steven A. Solomon | David Kaye
Edward R. Cummings, JoAnn J. Dolan, Todd F. Buchwald, Joshua L. Dorosin, Steven A. Solomon, David A. Kaye, Charles L. Daris, Donald H. Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, Ricardo Sanchez
Stress positions, Use of phobias, Nudity
Apr. 30, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4062
Emails discuss a Reuters article that reports a former head of the Guantanamo Bay jail was sent to U.S. operated prisons in Iraq in order to ensure proper prison conditions.
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
JoAnn J. Dolan
Geoffrey D. Miller, Mark Traecey Patrick Kimmitt, JoAnn J. Dolan, George W. Bush, William J. Gehron
Stress positions, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other
May 09, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4063
Emails include an Associated Press article that reports on allegations of abuse in Iraq. The article includes accounts of abuse by released detainees, allegations included dog attacks, dietary manipulation and extended periods of hoodings.
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Theresa K. Mitchell | JoAnn J. Dolan | Todd F. Buchwald | Harold L. Ingram
Janis Leigh Karpinski, JoAnn J. Dolan, Todd F. Buchwald, Harold L. Ingram, Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Peter G. Schmeelk , Rose M. Likins, Robin H. Sakoda, William J. Gehron
Rahad Naif, Hassan Naif, Saad Naif, Ra'id Mohammed Hassan
Use of electricity, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other
May 24, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4065
Emails include a New York Times article entitled "U.S. Disputed Protected Status of Iraq Inmates." The article discusses the American government's adamant position that many detainees in Iraq are not entitled to the full protections of the Geneva ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Robert K. Harris
Edward R. Cummings
Janis Leigh Karpinski, Robert K. Harris, Edward R. Cummings, Thomas Malionek, Lance L. Smith, Darlyce M. Eley, William J. Gehron, Marc Warren
Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Isolation, Nudity
June 07, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4070

Emails discuss and include a Wall Street Journal article entitled "Pentagon Report Set Framework for Use of Torture: Security or Legal Factors Could Trump Restrictions, Memo to Rumsfeld Argued." The article discusses a classified ...

Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Robert K. Harris
Edward R. Cummings | Samuel M. Witten | Tom Malionek | Jonathan B. Schwartz
Donald H. Rumsfeld, George W. Bush, James T. Hill, Condoleeza Rice, Patrick Leahy, William J. Haynes, II, Thomas Malionek, William J. Gehron, Robert K. Harris, Edward R. Cummings, Samuel M. Witten, Michael G. Kozak, James H. Thessin, Jonathan B. Schwartz, William Howard Taft, IV, Robert E. Dalton, Katherine M. Gorove, Lois L. Allder, Daphne W. Cook, Darlyce M. Eley
Threat, Family/others, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious