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
Apr. 28, 2003 | CIA-OGC | ACLU-RDI 4563

A letter from Scott Muller, general counsel of the CIA, to John Yoo, OLC, enclosing a list of legal principles applicable to the CIA's detention and interrogation of detainees, including the use of the "enhanced interrogation ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo, Letter
Scott W. Muller
John C. Yoo
John C. Yoo, Scott W. Muller
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound
June 16, 2003 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 4564

A list of bullet points discussing legal principles applicable to the CIA's detention and interrogation of detainees, including the use of the "enhanced interrogation techniques."  Many of the principles listed appear in the ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo, Chart/List, Letter
Patrick Philbin
Patrick Philbin
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other
Oct. 20, 2003 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 3974
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights litigation requesting that the Commission take measures to have the legal status of detainees held at Guantanamo be determined by a competent court, and to protect against the torture of detainees.
Dec. 30, 2004
Judicial (Pleading)
Physical assault, Assault/death, Stress positions, Isolation, Temperature, Threat, Environmental manipulation
Oct. 21, 2003 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 3729
Summary of allegations by the Special Rapporteur of abuse of a detainee held in custody at Guantanamo Bay and Bagram Air Base in 2002-2003. The claim of abuses included: prolonged standing; kneeling; painful and awkward positions; hooding; ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Use of electricity, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Environmental manipulation
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
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
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
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
June 20, 2003 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 2907
FBI email describing author's first week at Guantanamo. The email notes the differences between interview styles. The email states "Interesting differences' between the interviewees, as well as interview styles. And definitely areas where I ...
Dec. 15, 2004
Email
Environmental manipulation, Light or sound
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