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 (67)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
July 15, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 4896
This email is a response to a Bureau wide memo sent by Steve McCraw to illicit information from FBI agents who toured through Guantanamo Bay to report any suspected or witnessed abuse of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. This FBI agent states "In late ...
Jan. 02, 2007
Non-legal Memo, Email
Steven C. McCraw
Steven C. McCraw
Physical assault, Use of phobias, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other Humiliation, Religious
Sept. 15, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 4893
FBI memo from interviewing FBI agents who toured through Camp Delta, Camp X-Ray and the Naval Brig at Guantanamo. The agents stated that they witnessed several acts of abuse and the memo provides their accounts in detail. Memo notes the ...
Jan. 02, 2007
Non-legal Memo
Stephen R. Wiley
Physical assault, General, Use of phobias, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other Humiliation, Religious
Sept. 09, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 4890
Handwritten notes on observations of detainee interrogations at Camp Delta, Guantanamo. The FBI agent notes that he saw a detainee "chained hand/foot" in a fetal position; detainees urinated & defecated upon themselves; and the temperature of the ...
Jan. 02, 2007
Notes
Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Light or sound, Temperature, Other Humiliation, Environmental manipulation
Sept. 17, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 4794
FBI Interviewed the Special Agent regarding his assignment to Guantanamo Bay. The agent was assigned to Guantanamo Bay as an interrogator from June 2, 2003 to July 17, 2003. During that time, the interviewee occasionally observed DOD personnel ...
Jan. 02, 2007
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Other
Mar. 29, 2005 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 4795
Interview of FBI Official-member of the Behavioral Science Division, interviewee was stationed at Guantanamo, Bay from mid-September 2002 until the end of October 2002. The agent stated that he witnessed at least three incidents of abuse, ...
Jan. 02, 2007
Interview (Statement, Summaries/Notes)
John T. Furlow
Physical assault, General, Threat, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation, Religious, Forced grooming, Other
July 14, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 4793

An email from an FBI agent responding to a question about alleged abuse at Guantanamo Bay. The agent stated that he was stationed at Guantanamo Bay from June 2, 2003 to July 17, 2004. During the agent's time at GTMO, he/she occasionally ...

Jan. 02, 2007
Email
Yussef Mohammed Mubarak al Shihri
Use of water, Other, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Other
Aug. 31, 2006 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4553

An OLC memo from Steven Bradbury to John Rizzo analyzing whether certain conditions of confinement used by the CIA in covert overseas facilities are consistent with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.  The conditions are: (1) ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo, Letter
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Steven G. Bradbury
Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation, Forced grooming
Aug. 31, 2006 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4554

A letter providing legal advice regarding whether the conditions of detention at certain oversears CIA facilities are consistent with the applicable standards of the DTA.  It concludes that the conditions of confinement did not constitute ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Steven G. Bradbury, Lindsey Graham, Stephen Hadley, John McCain, Pete Hoekstra, Duncan Lee Hunter
Abu Zubaydah, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Isolation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Forced grooming, Environmental manipulation, Other Humiliation
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
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