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 (84)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Mar. 26, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3978
DOS Memo from William H. Taft to Secretary of State Powell re: Photographing POWs and the Geneva Conventions. Summary redacted. Discussion explores the US position on photographing and/or releasing photographs of POWs.
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
William Howard Taft, IV
Colin L. Powell
William Howard Taft, IV, Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper, Edward R. Cummings, JoAnn J. Dolan, Joshua L. Dorosin, Ronald W. Miller, Steven A. Solomon
Mar. 25, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4077
Emails discuss revisions made to talking points and an interview.
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Ronald W. Miller
JoAnn J. Dolan
Ronald W. Miller, JoAnn J. Dolan, James H. Thessin, Pierre-Richard Prosper, Charles L. Daris, Edward R. Cummings
Mar. 22, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3941
This State Department cable provides talking points for US mission & Embassy officials to inform foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. It ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Richard A. Boucher, Pierre-Richard Prosper, Ronald W. Miller, JoAnn J. Dolan
Mar. 19, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4700
State Department cable stating that the U.S. has come to an agreement to return five (5) Guantanamo detainees back to their home country. The agreement includes assurances from the receiving country that the detainees will receive humane ...
June 08, 2005
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Ronald W. Miller, Pierre-Richard Prosper
Mar. 12, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4383
State Department cable concerning Ambassador Prosper's March 10-11 Visit to Copenhagen for dialogue with Danish government. Includes summary of discussions of Guantanamo detainees, dialogue with NGOs, including questions of torture. Document has ...
Dec. 23, 2004
Cable
Pierre-Richard Prosper
Mar. 01, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3701
Opinion Editorial on Guantanamo Detainees from Ambassador Pierre-Richard Prosper, Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues. The Op-Ed states that terrorists need not be granted POW status under Article 4 of the Geneva Convention but should be ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Pierre-Richard Prosper
Pierre-Richard Prosper
Mar. 01, 2003 | ACLU-RDI 3982
Guantanamo Detainees Op-Ed by Pierre-Richard Prosper Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, March 2003. In this Op-ed Amb. Prosper describes how it is that America came to the issue of taking Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters and the difficulty ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Other
Pierre-Richard Prosper
Pierre-Richard Prosper
Feb. 10, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3939
This State Department cable provides talking points for US mission & Embassy officials to inform foreign governments about the transfer of their citizens/nationals to Guantanamo after they were picked-up on the battle field of Afghanistan. It ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Richard A. Boucher, Pierre-Richard Prosper, Ronald W. Miller
Oct. 17, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4248
State Department cable draft response to questions submitted by an attorney for a detainee held at Guantanamo. This cable contains talking points to address the status of these citizens being held at Guantanamo. The cable goes on to state; 1) The ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Pierre-Richard Prosper
Oct. 10, 2002 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4247
State Department cable announcing the release of four (4) detainees from Guantanamo to their home governments. The cable also states that the U.S. is willing to release detainees to home countries that are willing to treat the former detainees ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Ronald W. Miller, JoAnn J. Dolan, Pierre-Richard Prosper