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 (53)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Oct. 16, 2003 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 509
This Memo from the Army is dismissing, with prejudice, charges brought in a Court-Martial proceeding in exchange for the soldier pleading guilty to two (2) charges brought in an Article 15 proceeding. The investigation was in regards to ...
Mar. 23, 2005
Legal Memo, Photograph, Interview (Statement), UCMJ (Court-Martial, Article 15)
Face slap or insult slap, Walling, General, Assault/death, Physical assault, Threat
Oct. 04, 2003 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2076
This Army memorandum concerns dismissing certain charges against certain soldiers involved in detainee abuse to avoid Court-Martial proceedings and the legal consequences of such an action. The contents of the memo refers to the soldiers ...
Feb. 15, 2006
Legal Memo, Interview (Statement), UCMJ (Court-Martial)
Raymond Odierno
Raymond T. Odierno
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, General, Assault/death, Use of phobias, Threat
July 15, 2003 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1147
Sworn statement of a Soldier who witnessed a Captain taking a detainee in to the desert and making a detainee dig his own grave. He also states that a Staff Sargent fired a live round at or near the detainees. This document relates to an AR 15-6 ...
May 16, 2005
Investigative File (AR 15-6), Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, General, Threat, Assault/death, Mock Burial
July 15, 2003 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1166
Sworn statement of a soldier who witnessed an incident where an Army Captain abused a detainee. The Soldier witnessed the Captain kicking and threatening detainees with a gun and treating them in a disrespectful way. Soldier witnessed the captain ...
May 16, 2005
Investigative File (AR 15-6), Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, General, Threat, Assault/death, Mock Burial
July 13, 2003 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1162
Sworn statement of a soldier who witnessed an incident where an Army Captain abused a detainee. The Soldier witnessed the captain kicking a detainee. This document relates to an AR 15-6 investigations in to alleged detainee abuse at Ramadi ...
May 16, 2005
Investigative File (AR 15-6), Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Threat, Assault/death
July 13, 2003 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1163
Sworn statement of a soldier who witnessed an incident where an Army Captain abused a detainee. The Soldier witnessed the captain yelling and kicking a detainee. This document relates to an AR 15-6 investigations in to alleged detainee abuse at ...
May 16, 2005
Investigative File (AR 15-6), Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, General, Threat, Assault/death
Aug. 03, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6732
This August 3, 2002 cable provides authorization to implement more aggressive techniques in the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, including the use of the water board and mock burial, as described in this cable. The cable also provides information ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
John A. Rizzo, John B. Bellinger, III, John C. Yoo, Michael Chertoff, Daniel B. Levin
Abu Zubaydah
SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Threat, Assault/death, Mock Burial, Family/others, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation
Aug. 02, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6717
This email chain includes two cables discussing the status of Abu Zubaydah's interrogation and describing his condition. The first cable is dated August 2, 2002 and describes Abu Zubaydah's condition on day 45 of the isolation phase. It also ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Email, Cable
Bruce Jessen, James Mitchell
Abu Zubaydah
SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Threat, Mock Burial, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Other Humiliation
July 01, 2002 | ACLU-RDI 6743
This July 2002 cable is a request for guidance from headquarters on the use of enhanced interrogation techniques. The cable expresses hesitation about using these techniques on subjects being held in solitary confinement without legal ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Walling, Threat, Mock Burial, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling
July 01, 2002 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 6603
This cable provides formal authorization to proceed with portions of the next phase of Abu Zubaydah's interrogation, which include "more aggressive techniques" in order to obtain information, that the interrogation team concludes he is ...
Sept. 26, 2016
Cable
Abu Zubaydah
SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Threat, Assault/death, Mock Burial, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Other Humiliation, Manipulation of interrogator’s identity