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 (6709)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
July 30, 2003 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1633
Medical records of a 27 year-old Iraqi male, Enemy Prisoner of War (EPW) admitted to hospital with gunshot wound to right hand. The medical records do not give any indication as to how the detainee received his injuries or what detention facility ...
July 30, 2003 | ACLU-RDI 2416
Letter is from a 29 year old British citizen, with copies sent to Colin Powell, Jack Straw (UK Home Secretary), William Farish (US Ambassador to UK), John Howard (PM of Australia) and his local MP (Member of Parliament) in the UK. The letter ...
June 15, 2006
Letter
Paul Wolfowitz
Paul Wolfowitz, Colin L. Powell, Jack Straw, John Winston Howard, Stephen Creswell Timms , William Stamps Farish, IV
Feroz Ali Abassi, Moazzam Begg, David Hicks
July 30, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3616
No relevant text.
Nov. 23, 2004
Letter
Frank E. Schmelzer
July 30, 2003 | ACLU-RDI 3636
Letter from a non-government official denouncing the President's November 13, 2001 Military Order: Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War on Terrorism. The letter also expresses the author's concern that six detainees, ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Letter
George W. Bush | Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush, Frank E. Schmelzer
Feroz Ali Abassi, Moazzam Begg, David Hicks
July 30, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4451
State Department Cable re: Corrected Information Regarding Nationally of Detainees at Guantanamo – no other content or context
Jan. 12, 2005
Cable
Richard A. Boucher
July 30, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4461
State Department cable concerning the identification of detainees at Guantanamo. Specifically, the cable states "It was recently discovered that several detainees transferred to Guantanamo who were previously reported to be nationals of ...
Jan. 12, 2005
Cable
Colin L. Powell
July 30, 2003 | CIA-OGC | ACLU-RDI 6518
This document is a heavily redacted message concerning a White House meeting on enhanced techniques, and mentions that the Justice Department memorandum provides a legal "safe harbor" where conduct is lawful and no prosecutions will be mounted.
June 10, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Scott W. Muller
EIT
July 31, 2003 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1138
Sworn statements of investigation of detainee abuse at Ramadi Palace, Iraq – July 11-12, 2003. Two soldiers were seen kicking bound detainees who were in custody. The soldiers were told that the Geneva conventions apply to all captured EPWs, but ...
May 16, 2005
Investigative File (AR 15-6), Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, General
July 31, 2003 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 2904
Email regarding FBI preparations for a more permanent presence at Guantanamo. The email states "Things are in transition as the FBI prepares for a more permanent presence. I believe we must give serious consideration to pulling NCAVC people out ...
Dec. 15, 2004
Email
Stephen R. Wiley
Stephen R. Wiley
July 31, 2003 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3472
Interview of a detainee at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay. The detainee the interviewer asked the detainee about alleged sexual assaults he heard about occurring in the camp. The detainee explained he heard that female interrogators were sexually ...
May 18, 2005
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Physical assault, Sexual