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 (33)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
May 24, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 784
This statement of an Army Major (0-4) who was a member of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, V Corps in Iraq after February 2004 described the general operating procedures of the various intelligence detention facilities, including Abu ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Geoffrey D. Miller, Thomas Pappas, Ricardo Sanchez, Janis Leigh Karpinski, Barbara G. Fast
Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Other Humiliation
May 11, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 864
Interviewee arrived to AG around October 26, 2003 as an intelligence analyst.Interviewee recalled that " The closes[t] thing to detainee abuse I observed was making the detainees do PT." Interviewee stated, "[w]e requested the use of dogs for one ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Use of phobias, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Forced physical training
May 23, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 866
Sworn statement of a Sergeant (E7) who arrived at Abu Ghraib prison around October 18-20, 2003 until February 10, 2004, The SGT stated that he had a series of duty assignments. He stated "hese duty assignments were to screening, document ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Use of phobias, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
June 04, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 868
Sworn statement of a Sergeant who arrived to Abu Ghraib prison at the end of July 2003 to December 16, 2003 with the advanced party as an interrogator. The Sgt recalled the use of unmuzzled dogs, along with loud music. He recalled interrogating ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Thomas Pappas, Ricardo Sanchez
Use of phobias, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
May 25, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 900
This sworn statement is by a civilian contractor with the Titan Corp. assigned to Abu Ghraib prison on October 13, 2003 as a Linguist/Translator to conduct translation services during interrogations at the prison. The translator recalled hearing ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Thomas Pappas
Use of water, Other, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Forced grooming
June 10, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 14

Approximately 73-year-old Iraqi woman reported that she had been subjected to assault and sexual abuse, including being sodomized with a stick and touched in private areas; that she was forced to "swim" in water thrown on ...

Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID), Photograph
Jacqueline J. Scott, Nelson van Eck, Thom Jones
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, Sexual, General, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation, Sexual
Aug. 03, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 30
Detainee alleged that he was arrested by U.S. forces and placed in a hole in the ground with other detainees at an unknown location in Samara, Iraq for about three days, then threatened with death and taken to a room where he was placed on a box ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
John Peterson, Jacqueline J. Scott
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, General, Threat, Assault/death, Use of phobias, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Forced grooming, Other
July 05, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 91
Investigation prompted by NYT article containing victim's allegations of torture and abuse during detention in Abu Ghraib from November 29 through December 31, 2003. Investigation concludes there is not “sufficient evidence to prove or disprove ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
Jacqueline J. Scott, John Peterson
Bisher Amin Khalil al Rawi
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, General, Threat, Assault/death, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation
July 02, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 105
Investigations into numerous alleged abuses at Abu Ghraib Prison and Al-Ademeya Palace based on reports from CACI and Titan translation employees. Alleged abuses include the physical beatings and humiliation of various detainees, forced exercise ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
Jacqueline J. Scott, John Peterson
Use of water, Water dousing, Other, Physical assault, Sexual, General, Threat, Assault/death, Family/others, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Forced physical training
DOA | ACLU-RDI 209

This report reflects the findings of an investigation, led by Major General Antonio Taguba, into the allegations of detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison. The investigation took place in February of 2004 and concluded that numerous instances of ...

Oct. 19, 2004
Oversight Report, Investigative File (AR 15-6)
Antonio Taguba
Antonio Taguba, Ricardo Sanchez, R. Steven Whitcomb, David D. McKiernan, Kinard J. La Fate, Geoffrey D. Miller, Donald J. Ryder
ISN 151365, ISN 13077, ISN 151108, ISN 152307, ISN 150542, ISN 150422, ISN 150425, ISN 152529, ISN 7787, ISN 150427, ISN 151362, ISN 18470
Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Sexual, General, Threat, Assault/death, Use of phobias, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other