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 (70)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
May 13, 2004 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 4729
This letter is from Shafiq Rasul and Asif Iqbal, two former Guantanamo detainees. The letter is on the letterhead of the Centre for Constitutional Rights and states that
May 09, 2005
Letter
Shafiq Rasul | Asif Iqbal
George W. Bush
George W. Bush, David McWilliams, Geoffrey D. Miller
Shafiq Rasul, Asif Iqbal
Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation, Sexual
July 20, 2007 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4552

An OLC memo addressing whether the CIA may use 6 "enhanced interrogation techniques" in the interrogation of high value detainees: (1) dietary manipulation, (2) extended sleep deprivation, (3) facial hold, (4) attention grasp, (5) ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Steven G. Bradbury, John McCain, Duncan Lee Hunter, Patrick Leahy, Jesse Francis Bingaman, Jr., Hillary Clinton, John Warner, Richard J. Durbin, Christopher H. Shays, Patrick Philbin, Michael Hayden, Condoleeza Rice, Antonio Taguba
Abd al Hadi al Iraqi, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Jose Padilla, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri
EIT, SERE, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Assault/death, Use of electricity, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Nudity, Sexual, Use of water, Threat, Other Humiliation
Feb. 22, 2007 | CID | ACLU-RDI 4537

This CID Report investigates numerous allegations of abuse that occurred in September and November of 2003 in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib Prison. Included in the file is the testimony of detainee victims and members of the 372nd Military Police ...

Nov. 05, 2008
Investigative File (CID)
Habibullah, Dilawar
Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Sexual, General, Threat, Assault/death, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Sexual, Physical assault, Environmental manipulation, Other Humiliation
Oct. 14, 2005 | CID | ACLU-RDI 4527
CID investigation into allegations of prisoner maltreatment/abuse at Camp Cropper, Iraq. The investigation established probable cause to believe that eleven (11) members of the Military Police assigned to Camp Cropper engaged in cruelty and ...
Oct. 01, 2008
Investigative File (CID)
Face slap or insult slap, General, Assault/death, Temperature, Sexual, Physical assault, Threat, Environmental manipulation, Other Humiliation
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
June 01, 2004 | ACLU-RDI 3546
This documenis an academic paper presented by Philip B. Heyman of Harvard University.
June 01, 2005
Other
Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation, Sexual
July 31, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3534
Email updates recipient of the current environment in Guantanamo, during the author's assignment there, he/she has observed approximately twelve interrogations. He/she observed or learned of the following techniques being used by the Department ...
Feb. 06, 2006
Email
Stress positions, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Manipulation of interrogator’s identity, Other
July 31, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3529
Email updates recipient of the current environment in Guantanamo, during the author's assignment there, he/she has observed approximately twelve interrogations. He/she observed or learned of the following techniques being used by the Defense ...
Feb. 06, 2006
Email
Stress positions, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Manipulation of interrogator’s identity, Other
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
May 07, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3121
Emails between Valerie E. Caproni, John F. Curran, T.J. Harrington, and Others re: Reported incidents of possible detainee abuse at Guantanamo Bay. An NAE official reports three incidents he/she witnessed while in Guantanamo Bay on or around ...
Dec. 15, 2004
Email
Thomas J. Harrington
John F. Curran | Valerie E. Caproni
Valerie E. Caproni, Jay W. Hood, Thomas J. Harrington, John F. Curran
Threat, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Other