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 (1471)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
| ACLU-RDI 6601
This paper written by James Mitchell and John Jessen discusses interrogation resistance techniques described in Al Qaeda training documents, how to recognize when these techniques are being employed, and strategies for developing countermeasures.
Sept. 26, 2016
Non-legal Memo
James Mitchell and John Jessen
James Mitchell , Bruce Jessen
Jan. 28, 2003 | ACLU-RDI 6600
This document is a CIA Memo drafted for the Deputy Director for Operations via the Associate Deputy Director for Operations/Counterintelligence. The memo contains background information related to the treatment and condition of detainees as it ...
Sept. 26, 2016
Non-legal Memo
James Pavitt
Bruce Jessen, James Mitchell
Gul Rahman
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation
ODNI | ACLU-RDI 6658
This document is a memorandum from the chief of the Counterintelligence Evaluation Branch of the Counterespionage Group in the Counterintelligence Center about an interview conducted with John B. Jessen regarding the death of Gul Rahman.
Sept. 02, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Bruce Jessen
Gul Rahman
EIT, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Attention grasp, Walling, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity
| ACLU-RDI 6664
This CIA memorandum states that Gul Rahman has refused to confirm his identity or provide information to interrogators. The memorandum requests assistance to apply "alternative psychological pressures" to move Rahman "toward a debriefing mode."
Sept. 02, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Gul Rahman
| ACLU-RDI 6665
This memorandum describes the chronology of events relating to the death of Gul Rahman at the COBALT facility.
Sept. 02, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Gul Rahman
EIT
| ACLU-RDI 6666
This memorandum states that Gul Rahman was successfully rendered without incident and that there were not security issues or problems in executing the rendition.
Sept. 02, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Gul Rahman
| ACLU-RDI 6667
This memorandum describes the plan for obtaining cooperation of Gul Rahman, including possible enhanced interrogation due to the fact that Rahman is likely withholding valuable information.
Sept. 02, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Gul Rahman
EIT
| ACLU-RDI 6668
This memorandum states that an individual in custody after a raid is possibly Gul Rahman and that the station will work to make a positive identification.
Sept. 02, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Gul Rahman
EIT
Dec. 01, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6674
This document contains an interview of a redacted subject on the death of Gul Rahman. The interviewee describes Rahman's behavior as a detainee and the events that happened after learning of Rahman's death.
Sept. 02, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Gul Rahman
EIT, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature
Aug. 05, 2004 | CIA-OGC | ACLU-RDI 6612
This letter is the CIA's response to questions raised by Daniel Levin, OLC, regarding the use of waterboarding. The letter describes the CIA's limits in administering the technique. [OLC Vaughn Index #72]
Aug. 31, 2016
Non-legal Memo, Letter
Daniel B. Levin
Daniel B. Levin
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding