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 (118)

This 2002 cable requests that IC Psychologist James Mitchell remain at the undisclosed location in order to provide continued assistance in the Abu Zubaydah interrogation. The cable states that Mitchell's role is "key" and they need him there to ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
CTC/UBL
James Mitchell
Abu Zubaydah
SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding
This email discusses the sending and drafting of a cable requesting that Psychologist James Mitchell stay at the undisclosed location. This email asks that the cable not be sent until it is determined whether enhanced measures will need to be taken.
Dec. 20, 2016
Email
James Mitchell
Abu Zubaydah
EIT
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 ...
This June 16, 2002 cable asks that 1) psychological supervision of Abu Zubaydah be provided while the IC SERE psychologist is away and 2) that the group come to agreement on implementing the period of isolation of Abu Zubaydah, using verifiable ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
ALEC
Abu Zubaydah
Isolation
This CIA cable to the ALEC Info Director is heavily redacted and states that the IC SERE Psychologists recommend using the waterboard technique for the "aggressive" phase of Abu Zubaydah's interrogation.
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
Abu Zubaydah
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding
This June 18, 2002 cable details the message that the interrogation team delivered to Abu Zubaydah, which is redacted, the interrogation techniques used on him and his reactions to them, and an assessment of his resistance posture. The cable ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
Abu Zubaydah
SERE, Physical assault, Attention grasp, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity
This CIA cable to the Immediate ALEC Info Director discusses medical care in the event that Abu Zubaydah has a heart attack or another serious medical condition and plans for cremation if he dies. The cable also states that the detainee must ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
Abu Zubaydah
EIT, Isolation
This heavily redacted paper "discusses the techniques and strategies for resisting interrogation described in captured al-Qa'ida training manuals and other documents. It suggests methods for recognizing when sophisticated resistance to ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Non-legal Memo, Cable
Abu Zubaydah
EIT
This August 4, 2002 cable details the first and second sessions of the aggressive phase of interrogation of Abu Zubaydah. Throughout these sessions Abu Zubaydah continued to maintain his position that he had no additional information.
This redacted memo, sent from HQS/ALEC to the CIA, explains that the interrogation process with Abu Zubaydah is "at somewhat of a standstill" and presents options for proceeding in such a way that increases pressure on Zubaydah to provide ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
Abu Zubaydah
EIT, Threat, Family/others, Cramped confinement