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
May 08, 2003 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 4854
Executive Summary discussing the U.S. Southern Command's request to use additional interrogation techniques. On April 16, 2003, the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, approved the following techniques: change of scenery down, which was ...
Jan. 05, 2007
Non-legal Memo
Donald H. Rumsfeld
Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Manipulation of interrogator’s identity, Other
July 19, 2003 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 4941
FBI Interview of an Afghan detainee interviewed at Guantanamo Bay. He complained of being mistreated by U.S. forces while in detention in Bagram, Afghanistan and during his transit to Camp Delta. He pointed to marks on his wrists that he claimed ...
Jan. 02, 2007
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Physical assault, General, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling
Nov. 11, 2003 | ACLU-RDI 2438
Memo states that during a recent "welfare visit" a British citizen at Guantanamo informed UK officials that he was "hooded and physically abused" prior to transfer to Guantanamo. In response, the memo states that Paul Butler, the Deputy ...
June 30, 2006
Non-legal Memo
Timothy J. Keating
Timothy J. Keating
Physical assault, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling
Sept. 04, 2003 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2078
This document is a letter from the defense counsel of an accused soldier for an adjournment in the proceedings for the soldier to be assigned new defense counsel and to allow that new counsel to prepare for trial in the matter. The facts of the ...
Feb. 15, 2006
Non-legal Memo, Letter, UCMJ (Article 32)
Sexual, Assault/death, Family/others, Hooding/Goggling, Physical assault, Threat, Environmental manipulation
June 30, 2003 | CID | FBI | ACLU-RDI 1896
This investigative report was generated by the Criminal Investigative Task Force (CITF) Report of Investigative Activity and the interview of the detainee at Camp Delta was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Navy Naval ...
Dec. 21, 2005
Investigative File, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature
May 03, 2003 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1533
Memo from General Miller re: Allegations of inhumane treatment of detainees. General Miller directs the interrogators at Guantanamo to cease the use of the "Fear-Up Harsh" interrogation; only DOD personnel may approve interrogation plans; ...
July 22, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Geoffrey D. Miller
General, Assault/death, Light or sound, Sexual, Forced physical training, Physical assault, Threat, Environmental manipulation, Other Humiliation
Apr. 16, 2003 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 3544

A memo from Secretary Rumsfeld approving a set of interrogation techniques, including some that it admits may be "inconsistent with" provisions of the Geneva Conventions.  The techniques include "Pride and Ego Down," ...

June 01, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Donald H. Rumsfeld
James T. Hill
Donald H. Rumsfeld, James T. Hill, Richard B. Myers
Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation
Jan. 08, 2003 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3425
Interview of detainee at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay. When asked how he was doing the detainee stated "that things were not going well, and that he perceived current U.S. actions as a holy war between Christians and Muslims, propagated by ...
May 18, 2005
Interview (Summaries/Notes)
General, Cramped confinement, Temperature, Religious, Physical assault, Environmental manipulation, Other Humiliation
Mar. 06, 2003 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3431
Interview of detainee at Guantanamo. Detainee was shown a photo book wherein he identified Usama bin Laden, but says he never met him. Then he claimed that on a previous occasion two femal interviewers hooded him and had him beaten under questioning.
May 18, 2005
Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Physical assault, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling
Apr. 16, 2003 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3446
Interview of detainee at Camp Delta, Guantanamo bay. The purpose of the interview was for the new interviewing agents to build rapport with the detainee and encourage his continued cooperation. The interviewers told the detainee that he needs to ...
May 18, 2005
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual