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
Mar. 07, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4356
State Department cable concerning the family of a detainee and his impending transfer from Guantanamo to his home country. The rights activists request that US not transfer any war prisoners because "torture, inhumane treatment and the death ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Cable
Lorne Craner
Sept. 29, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4353
State Department cable concerning a summary of the Yemeni Parliamentary Committee's investigation and detention of "hundreds" of suspects involved in the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen in October 2000. The Committee's report focused on ...
Nov. 08, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4354
State Department cable concerning European Asst. Sec. Elizabeth Jones meeting with Danish EU Presidency representatives concerning "Political Hot Spots" such as: Iraq; Afghanistan; and Central Asia. The Koreas were discussed as was southern ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Cable
Elizabeth Jones
Bill Taylor
Elizabeth Jones
Feb. 02, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4351
State Department cable concerning Secretary of State Powell's Meeting with EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana. They discussed, Balkins, the Middle East, Yassar Arafat, the Global Coalition Against ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Email
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Richard A. Boucher, William Burns, Charles Ries, Craig A. Kelly
Apr. 09, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4352
State Department cable concerning a gentleman who approached the embassy to inquire about his son’s status in U.S. custody at Guantanamo. The father stated that he formed a group of detainee families to act collectively to seek information, ...
Jan. 28, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4349
State Department cable notes that a Foreign Minister contacted the DCM and delivered reports of "Harsh and inhumane treatment are meted out to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda prisoners" at Guantanamo. The cable is largely redacted, but indicates that ...
Jan. 31, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4350
State Department cable concerning the world's perception that the US was treating its detainees improperly was undermining the moral high ground upon which the anti-terror coalition stands. The cable also gives some insight to off-record meetings ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell, Daniel Ray Coats
Jan. 26, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4347
DOS Cable re: Update on Various Issues for the Secretary: Guantanamo; NATO; and Foreign Affairs
Dec. 17, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell
Jan. 26, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4348
DOS Cable re: Update on Various Issues for the Secretary: Guantanamo; U.S.-Canadian Relations; and Foreign Affairs.
Jan. 24, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4345
State Department cable concerning Australian Prime Minister Howard's upcoming trip to New York for the World Economic Forum. The cable states that PM Howard has expressed his support for Operation Enduring Freedom and the international effort ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Cable
John Thomas Schieffer
Colin L. Powell
John Thomas Schieffer, Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush