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 (1378)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Mar. 07, 2003 | CIA-OGC | ACLU-RDI 6517
This document is a heavily redacted letter from Scott Muller to the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence proposing a draft response to a Human Rights Watch letter.
June 10, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Scott W. Muller
John McLaughlin
Scott W. Muller, John McLaughlin
CIA | ACLU-RDI 6515
This document, prepared by the Chief of Medical Services, summarizes and reflects upon the rendition, detention and interrogation program. The findings include that in a particular no evidence was found that the use of waterboard produced ...
June 13, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Gul Rahman, Abu Zubaydah
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, General, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Threat, Mock Burial, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Nudity
Jan. 28, 2003 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 6509
These guidelines, issued by George Tenet, detail permissible interrogation techniques (including EITs), medical and psychological personnel who must be present, interrogation personnel, approvals required, and recordkeeping requirements.
June 10, 2016
Non-legal Memo, Chart/List
George Tenet
George J. Tenet
EIT, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Other Humiliation
Sept. 02, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 6469
This document is a memo in reference to a NCIS request for the FBI to release information on all people who have had interaction with two detainees who have alleged abuse at the hands of military personnel and their interpreters. The detainees' ...
Oct. 30, 2009
Non-legal Memo
FBI Office of General Counsel
Counter Terrorism Unit
Jan. 03, 1994 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 6415
This document is a memo from the Director of the FBI providing guidelines on the disciplinary process within the FBI. He expresses his hope to draw a "bright line" is order to keep all employees aware of his expectations and sets out his vision ...
Apr. 05, 2003 | JCOS | ACLU-RDI 6394
This document is a Memorandum for the Commander of the US Southern Command. The subject is "Counter-resistance techniques in the war on terrorism." Under "Tab A," the document lists an A-X of interrogation techniques.
June 16, 2011
Non-legal Memo
Richard B. Myers
Apr. 05, 2003 | JCOS | ACLU-RDI 6393
This document is a Memorandum for the Commander of the US Southern Command. The subject is "Counter-resistance techniques in the war on terrorism." Under "Tab A," the document lists an A-X of interrogation techniques.
June 16, 2011
Non-legal Memo
Richard B. Myers
Oct. 28, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 6372
This document is a memorandum alerting Toni Fogle of the FBI's Internal Affairs Division of an investigation into the death of a detainee, Haji Sher Mohammad, and requesting to interview a special agent who administered a gunshot residue test to ...
Non-legal Memo
Toni Fogle
Haji Sher Mohammad
Oct. 05, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 6361
The document is an internal FBI memorandum, regarding a request to establish a pre-deployment training program for FBI personnel who deploy to Afghanistan. The memorandum includes a cost analysis as well as a preliminary draft syllabus.
June 15, 2011
Non-legal Memo
Gary M. Bald, Thomas J. Harrington, Frankie Battle, Willie T. Hulon, Arthur M. Cummings, II
Nov. 23, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 6360
The document is an internal FBI memorandum, regarding the mission overview of the FBI-Afghanistan Detachment based on the CTD Afghanistan Assessment Team (AAT) findings. The memorandum also includes information on detainee interviews and support ...
June 15, 2011
Non-legal Memo
John S. Pistole, J. Stephen Tidwell, Frankie Battle, Gary M. Bald, Willie T. Hulon, Thomas J. Harrington, Arthur M. Cummings, II