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 (161)

State Department cable discusses comments by Canadian Defense Minister Art Eggleton and the Geneva Conventions application to terrorists in the modern era. Mr. Eggleton came under attack for comments he made that downplay the Geneva Conventions ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Sharon E. Ahmad, Thomas Joseph Ridge
DOS Cable re: President Bush Making a Decision on the Legal Status of the Guantanamo Detainees. The cable also mentions Sec. of Def. meeting with UK Def. minister Hoon, and a British TV show called "The American Embassy".
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld
This State Department cable provides talking points concerning informing foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. The information is on the ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Brent E. Blaschke
Brent E. Blaschke , Colin L. Powell, Debra L. Cagan, Gregory M. Suchan
State Department cable summarizes a recent plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. At the meeting, the European Parliament reaffirmed its solidarity with the U.S. in the fight against terrorism and recognized that detainees at ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Sharon E. Ahmad
State Department cable concerning the Canadian Prime Minister statement on the U.S. agreement to treat detainees in accordance with Geneva conventions. The cable is heavily redacted.
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell
State Department cable re: Applying the Geneva Conventions to the Taliban detainees, but not granting Taliban POW status. Because Afghanistan is a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, the Geneva Conventions apply, but because the fighters are not ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell
State Department cable stating that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters are enemy combatants and will not be afforded the Geneva Conventions, but will be treated humanely and in accordance with the principles of the Geneva Convention. "The U.S. is ...
Dec. 17, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell
This State Department cable provides talking points concerning informing foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. The information is on the ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Brent E. Blaschke
Colin L. Powell, Brent E. Blaschke , Debra L. Cagan, John B. Bellinger, III
State Department cable discusses various activities taking place within Canada's political system. Activities include, an application of pressure from Ottawa, hoping to sway the U.S. government to follow the policies of the Geneva Conventions in ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Sharon E. Ahmad
State Department cable concerning the applicability of the Geneva Conventions to the Guantanamo detainees. The cable states that a determination on the legal status of the Guantanamo detainees and the applicability of the Geneva conventions to ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
George W. Bush, Colin L. Powell