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 (71)

This document is part of the Taguba Report (Annex 83) and included here in the Fay Report. The interview is of Sergeant First Class Keith A. Comer, Platoon Sergeant of the 229th Military Police Company assigned to Abu Ghraib Prison in 2003. ...

Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Antonio Taguba, David D. McKiernan, Janis Leigh Karpinski, Donald H. Rumsfeld
Physical assault, Stomach/abdominal slap, General
Interviewee was a member of the Internal Reaction Force, on stand-by for any future incidents at Abu Ghraib prison. On the evening of the riot, the Spc. recounted an incident of abuse, stated: "We were told a prisoner gained access to a handgun ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, General, Nudity, Other
Unknown interviewee was assigned to AG to establish connectivity of computers. Recalled an incident where an MI explained to an interrogator that a detainee was unavailable for interrogation because he had been interrogated for 10 hrs, stripped ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, General, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other
Sworn Statement of a Sergeant assigned to Abu Ghraib prison. The Sgt. recalled finding a detainee naked in their cell, the detainee was identified as a high level official. Recalled the detainee was embarrassed about being naked in the cell ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Thomas Pappas
Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Nudity
Memo is an interview-statements regarding conditions in AG. Interviewee recalled finding a detainee naked in their cell, the detainee was identified as a high level official. Recalled the detainee was embarrassed about being naked in the cell ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Thomas Pappas
Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Nudity
Interviewee arrived to AG in October 2003 as a Civilian Interrogator. Reported seeing an MP shoot a detainee with a rubber bullet. Did not hear of requests to 'soften up' detainees. Did remember seeing and hearing dogs, and did hear that the ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Thomas Pappas
Physical assault, General, Use of phobias, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Other
Interviewee arrived to AG as an interrogator. Recalled an incident with a detainee who "made physical contact" with the interrogator's analyst, as a result the detainee was placed against the wall, upon pushing the analyst, the interrogation ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, General, Threat, Nudity
Interviewee was in AG approximately August 23, 2003 as a member of the Internal Reaction Force. Observed an MI yell at a detainee and hit the detainee in the back of the head with a closed fist. Also, observed another MI soldier put a ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript, Questionnaire)
Physical assault, Walling, General, Use of phobias, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity
Interviewee arrived to AG in October 2003, was assigned to the prison. Stated that he/she would receive instructions from MI regarding sleep management of detainees. Stated that he/she was unaware of detainee humiliation, however, due to ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Thomas Pappas
Physical assault, General, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation

Interview summary of First Lieutenant conducted by a team of officers at the direction of Major General Antonio Taguba. The 1LT was in charge of the Internal Reaction Force (IRF), and provided escort guards within the confines of Abu Ghraib ...

Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript, Statement)
Antonio Taguba
Antonio Taguba, David D. McKiernan, Thomas Pappas
Physical assault, General, Assault/death, Threat