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 (65)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
May 09, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4063
Emails include an Associated Press article that reports on allegations of abuse in Iraq. The article includes accounts of abuse by released detainees, allegations included dog attacks, dietary manipulation and extended periods of hoodings.
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Theresa K. Mitchell | JoAnn J. Dolan | Todd F. Buchwald | Harold L. Ingram
Janis Leigh Karpinski, JoAnn J. Dolan, Todd F. Buchwald, Harold L. Ingram, Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Peter G. Schmeelk , Rose M. Likins, Robin H. Sakoda, William J. Gehron
Rahad Naif, Hassan Naif, Saad Naif, Ra'id Mohammed Hassan
Use of electricity, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other
May 13, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3842

Email includes news articles about high level detainees, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Abu Zubaydah and the "harsh" interrogation methods the CIA employs. The email includes another article, which reports specific accounts of abuse.

Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Jonathan B. Schwartz
Katherine M. Gorove | Michael J. Dennis
George W. Bush, Jonathan B. Schwartz, Katherine M. Gorove, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Frank E. Schmelzer , Michael J. Dennis, Mark P. Lagon, Lorne Craner, Michael G. Kozak, Miriam K. Hughes, Janice A. Smith
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Walid Bin Attash
Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Forced grooming
Aug. 23, 2002 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3393
Interview of a detainee at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay. The detainee stated he was beaten by U.S. forces at an unknown location in Afghanistan. In one instance, he was taken via helicopter to a location where he was kicked in the stomach by ...
May 18, 2005
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling
May 22, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3106
These emails are to clarify an Electronic Communication (EC) sent by the FBI's Office of the General Counsel to field agents informing them that they must report incidents of abuse that they know of or become aware of. The initial email requests ...
Dec. 15, 2004
Email
Gary M. Bald | M. Chris Briese | Valerie E. Caproni | Thomas J. Harrington | Frankie Battle | Arthur M. Cummings, II
Gary M. Bald, Valerie E. Caproni, Arthur M. Cummings, II, Frankie Battle, Thomas J. Harrington, M. Chris Briese, George W. Bush
Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other
FBI | ACLU-RDI 3024
FBI Memo concerning FBI personal's knowledge and documentation of detainee and prisoner abuse in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo
Dec. 15, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Antonio Taguba
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, General, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Manipulation of interrogator’s identity, Other
May 25, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 2983
This FBI memo concerns the activities of FBI personnel at Abu Ghraib prison from October 2003 to December 2003. The FBI conducted 15 interviews of military personnel, each being present at Abu Ghraib prison at some point during October 2003 & ...
Dec. 15, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, General, Threat, Family/others, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Other
May 19, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 2829

Cable summarizes the results of 14 interviews of FBI personnel who participated in detainee interviews at Abu Ghraib between October and December 2003. Attached to the cable is a classified chart of FBI personnel who conducted interviews at ...

Dec. 15, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Thomas J. Harrington | Valerie E. Caproni
Thomas J. Harrington, Valerie E. Caproni, Chris Swecker, J. Stephen Tidwell, Janice K. Fedarcyk, Brenton L. Mosher, Warren T. Bamford, Edward J. Barrett
Physical assault, General, Threat, Family/others, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity
June 20, 2004 | DON | ACLU-RDI 2539
Navy Chief Petty Officer, Gunners Mate, discusses in-processing and handling of detainees. States that taped up goggles are put on detainees. Other units use hoods. States, "I've never seen anybody get kicked, punched, or sexually abused. Guys ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
Stress positions, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling
Mar. 24, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 2531
Documents related to CID Investigations 0233-03-CID259-61217 and 0022-04-CID149-. Includes two Agent's Investigative Reports and a translation of a statement provided by a detainee. The first Agent's Investigative report summarizes interviews ...
June 30, 2006
Investigative File (CID)
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Walling, Sexual, General, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling
DOA | ACLU-RDI 2496
Sworn statements of three (3) detainees at Abu Ghraib. FIRST STATEMENT: Detainee states that he "was never hit in Abu Ghraib," but was mistreated between his capture and his arrival at Abu Ghraib. Describes being interrogated and hit "by an ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Walling, General, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling