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 (31)

This letter is the CIA's response to questions raised by Daniel Levin, OLC, regarding the use of waterboarding. The letter describes the CIA's limits in administering the technique. [OLC Vaughn Index #73]

Aug. 24, 2009
Non-legal Memo, Letter
Daniel B. Levin
Daniel B. Levin
Use of water, Waterboarding

A background paper on the CIA's combined use of interrogation techniques, addressed to Daniel Levin, Acting Assistant Attorney General. The document states that "Effective interrogation is based on the concept of using both physical and ...

This document was faxed from the CIA to Steven Bradbury (OLC). It describes the CIA's technique of "horizontal sleep deprivation," wherein a detainee is placed on a large blanket on the floor and chained such that he cannot sleep. ...

A letter from the CIA's Office of General Counsel to Judge Hellerstein attaching a Vaughn index of records from August 2002 that describe the contents of the interrogation videotapes destroyed by the CIA.  The letter explains that the ...

May 01, 2009
Letter, Judicial
John L. McPherson
Alvin K. Hellerstein
John L. McPherson, Alvin K. Hellerstein
Letter to Human Rights Watch responding to HRW's November 15, 2003 letter (at CIA000008-CIA000009) requesting a visit to CIA detention facilities in Afghanistan. Letter does not respond to request to visit. States that "I can assure you ... that ...
May 18, 2004
Letter
Scott W. Muller
Brad Adams
Scott W. Muller
A letter from John Helgerson, the CIA Inspector General, to Congressman Peter Hoekstra, the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The letter indicates that a copy of the OIG report concerning the death of Abid Hamad ...
Letter
John L. Helgerson
Pete Hoekstra
John L. Helgerson, Pete Hoekstra
Abid Hamad Mahawish Al-Mahalawi
A letter from John Helgerson, the CIA Inspector General, to Senator Pat Roberts, the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The letter indicates that a copy of the OIG report concerning the death of Abid Hamad Mahawish ...
Letter
John L. Helgerson
Pat Roberts
John L. Helgerson, Pat Roberts
Abid Hamad Mahawish Al-Mahalawi
A letter from John Helgerson, the CIA Inspector General, to Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, the Vice-Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The letter indicates that a copy of the OIG report concerning the death of Abid Hamad ...
This email contains a letter from Marilyn A. Dorn, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), General Counsel's Office (GC), concerning four (4) legal cases: 1) United States v. CW3 Welshofer; 2) United States v. CW2 Williams; 3) United States v. SPC ...
Email, Letter
Marilyn A. Dorn
Marilyn A. Dorn
A letter from John Helgerson, the CIA Inspector General, to Congresswoman Jane Harman, the ranking Democratic member on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The letter indicates that a copy of the OIG report concerning the death ...
Letter
John L. Helgerson
Jane Harman
John L. Helgerson, Jane Harman
Abid Hamad Mahawish Al-Mahalawi