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 (127)

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
Nov. 23, 2003 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 4825
This memo discusses an official's appointment to Investigating Officer for the purpose of conducting a formal investigation, pursuant to Army Regulation 15-6, into the circumstances surrounding the capture and detention of three Iraqis (a man and ...
Jan. 02, 2007
Non-legal Memo
Physical assault, General, Other
CIA | ACLU-RDI 4617

Redacted certification sheet used in CIA interrogation training. [OIG Remand Vaughn #Other-93]

Aug. 24, 2009
Non-legal Memo
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement
Feb. 25, 2003 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 4612

Lengthy, but almost entirely redacted, document that apparently discusses the CIA’s detention and interrogation program for “high value targets.” The document provides some detail regarding the “standard” and ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Non-legal Memo
Abu Zubaydah
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other
Apr. 22, 2005 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 4588

This document was faxed from the CIA to Steven Bradbury (OLC). It describes the CIA's technique of "horizontal sleep deprivation," wherein a detainee is placed on a large blanket on the floor and chained such that he cannot sleep. ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Non-legal Memo, Letter
Steven G. Bradbury
Steven G. Bradbury
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation
Dec. 30, 2004 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 4586

A background paper on the CIA's combined use of interrogation techniques, addressed to Daniel Levin, Acting Assistant Attorney General. The document states that "Effective interrogation is based on the concept of using both physical and ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Non-legal Memo, Letter
Daniel B. Levin
Daniel B. Levin
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity
Dec. 01, 2004 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 4587

A fax (sent January 15, 2005) from the CIA to the OLC of the December 2004 OMS Guidelines on Medical and Psychological Support to Detainee Rendition, Interrogation, and Detention. The document is heavily redacted but describes the enhanced ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Non-legal Memo, Medical (Psychological)
Daniel B. Levin
Daniel B. Levin
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Forced grooming
Jan. 28, 2003 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 4562
This CIA memo provides guidelines on interrogations of detainees, Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters. The memo is divided into the following sections: 1) Permissible Interrogation Techniques; 2) Medical and Psychological Personnel; 3) Interrogation ...
Aug. 24, 2009
Non-legal Memo
George Tenet
George J. Tenet
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other
Mar. 07, 2003 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3480
Interview of a detainee at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay by the FBI and the Criminal Investigative Task Force (CITF). The detainee states when he was captured in Afghanistan he was beaten, hit in the head with a rifle and threatened with being shot ...
May 18, 2005
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Physical assault, General, Threat, Assault/death