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 (90)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
May 25, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2494
Collection of five (5) sworn statements about abuse in detention facilities in Iraq, attached to ACLU-RDI 2493. None of the statements report witnessing any physical abuse at Abu Ghraib, but all recount claims by detainees of abuse at other ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
George R. Fay
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Sexual, General, Threat, Family/others, Use of phobias, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
Aug. 05, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2493
Memo from Major General Fay to Lieutenant General Sanchez stating that during the course of interviews on Abu Ghraib, five (5) detainees "reported possible abuse they believe occurred at other locations." Three (3) witnesses also "stated that ...
June 30, 2006
Non-legal Memo
George Fay
Ricardo Sanchez
George R. Fay, Ricardo Sanchez
Physical assault, Sexual, General
Apr. 08, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 2468
Detainee alleged that he was abused while in custody of US forces at Camp Bucca. The detainee claims he was wrongly arrested, beaten, sexually assaulted and had his money ($160,000US) stolen. Once released, detainee filed a complaint with the ...
June 30, 2006
Investigative File (CID)
Physical assault, Sexual, General
Nov. 08, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2315
Report on an informal investigation conducted by Brigadier General Richard P. Formica into specific allegations of detainee abuse within CJSOTF-AP [Combined Joint Special Operating Task Force – Arabian Peninsula] and 5th SF [Special Forces] Group ...
June 15, 2006
Oversight Report, Investigative File
Richard P. Formica
Ricardo Sanchez, George R. Fay, Richard P. Formica
Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Sexual, General, Threat, Assault/death, Family/others, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
May 19, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2313
Discusses existence of new photos of abuse of detainees. A CD of photographs was provided by CIA to Department of Defense who forwarded it to the Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID). Some of the photographs were the Abu Ghraib ones shown ...
Feb. 15, 2006
Non-legal Memo
Donald H. Rumsfeld, Janis Leigh Karpinski
Sexual, General, Sexual, Physical assault, Other Humiliation
Aug. 01, 2005 | CID | ACLU-RDI 2301
This CID investigation concerns an investigation in to detainee abuse in Afghanistan. A New York Times newspaper was releasing a story on 12 May 04, concerning allegations of a Afghan Police Colonel that was alleged to be abused by U.S. Forces in ...
Feb. 15, 2006
Investigative File (CID)
Sexual, Assault/death, Physical assault, Threat
June 12, 2005 | CID | ACLU-RDI 2298
Detainee alleged that while at Abu Ghraib prison several soldiers slapped; punched; choked; struck his head, shoulders, and arms with a retractable metal baton; jumped on him; forced him to lean against a wall in a seated position; forced him to ...
Feb. 15, 2006
Investigative File (CID), Photograph
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Walling, Sexual, Stress positions, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Forced physical training
May 03, 2004 | DOA | OJAG | ACLU-RDI 2294

This document is the Court Martial - charge and prosecution package for Specialist Charles A. Graner, Jr. of the 372nd Military Police Company. SPC Graner was a key figure in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal and this document contains the ...

Feb. 15, 2006
Photograph, UCMJ (Court-Martial), Judicial (Transcript)
Charles A. Graner, Jr.
Physical assault, Sexual, Assault/death, Family/others, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Sexual, Religious, Forced physical training, Threat, Environmental manipulation, Other Humiliation
Oct. 20, 2005 | CID | ACLU-RDI 2286
Detainee alleged that he was abused while in custody of U.S. forces. The detainee claims he was beaten, sexually assaulted and had his property stolen. Once released, detainee filed a complaint and told his story on Hardball with Chris Matthews. ...
Feb. 15, 2006
Investigative File (CID)
Physical assault, Sexual, General, Nudity, Sexual, Other Humiliation
May 05, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 2267
The executive summary, dated May 5, 2004, contains a table listing Military Police officers from the 377th Military Police Company who were flagged for various offenses. The pending investigations concern the deaths of two Bagram detainees ...
Feb. 15, 2006
Non-legal Memo
David D. McKiernan, Antonio Taguba, Ricardo Sanchez, Thomas F. Metz, James R. Helmly, Ivan L. Frederick, II, Javal Sean Davis, Megan M. Ambuhl, Charles A. Graner, Jr., Sabrina D. Harman, Jeremy C. Sivits, Michael N. Ertman, Mark Traecey Patrick Kimmitt, Lynndie Rana England
Physical assault, Sexual, General, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other