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 (57)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
June 02, 2003 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 4789
Memorandum to General Geoffrey Miller regarding Secretary of Defense (SECDEF), Donald Rumsfeld's memorandum. The memo to Gen. Miller seeks clarification on the use of certain techniques, including a concern about the removal of the Koran from ...
Jan. 02, 2007
Non-legal Memo
James T. Hill
Geoffrey D. Miller
Geoffrey D. Miller, Donald H. Rumsfeld, James T. Hill
Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Other
May 08, 2003 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 4854
Executive Summary discussing the U.S. Southern Command's request to use additional interrogation techniques. On April 16, 2003, the Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, approved the following techniques: change of scenery down, which was ...
Jan. 05, 2007
Non-legal Memo
Donald H. Rumsfeld
Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Manipulation of interrogator’s identity, Other
Feb. 25, 2003 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 4612

Lengthy, but almost entirely redacted, document that apparently discusses the CIA’s detention and interrogation program for “high value targets.” The document provides some detail regarding the “standard” and ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Non-legal Memo
Abu Zubaydah
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other
Jan. 31, 2003 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 6605
This cable includes the text of the January 28, 2003 DCI approved "Guidelines on Interrogations Conducted Pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum of Notification of 17 September 2001". The cable also asks that all personnel involved in ...
Sept. 26, 2016
Cable
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other Humiliation, Other
Jan. 28, 2003 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 4562
This CIA memo provides guidelines on interrogations of detainees, Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters. The memo is divided into the following sections: 1) Permissible Interrogation Techniques; 2) Medical and Psychological Personnel; 3) Interrogation ...
Aug. 24, 2009
Non-legal Memo
George Tenet
George J. Tenet
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other
DOA | ACLU-RDI 661
Sworn statement from a CACI contractor who screened detainees arriving at Abu Ghraib from Asamiya Palace (alternate spelling: Adhamiya Palace) from mid-December 2003 through January 2004. The Screener describes in her statement hearing ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, Walling, Sexual, General, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Other
FBI | ACLU-RDI 3024
FBI Memo concerning FBI personal's knowledge and documentation of detainee and prisoner abuse in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo
Dec. 15, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Antonio Taguba
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, General, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Manipulation of interrogator’s identity, Other
FBI | ACLU-RDI 3528

Memo is an FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) report of DOD interrogation tactics used in Guantanamo. BAU reported witnessing the following techniques being used: duct tape to a detainee's mouth, growling dogs, bright lights, loud music, and ...

Feb. 06, 2006
Non-legal Memo
Stephen R. Wiley
Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other
DOJ-OIG | ACLU-RDI 5968
A DOJ-OIG questionnaire for FBI personnel who were involved in detainee interview or interrogations at assigned locations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Iraq; Afghanistan; or in other areas controlled by the U.S. Military. Questionnaire primarily ...
Apr. 03, 2009
Interview (Questionnaire)
Physical assault, Sexual, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other
DOJ-OIG | ACLU-RDI 5965
A DOJ-OIG questionnaire for FBI personnel who were involved in detainee interview or interrogations at assigned locations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Iraq; Afghanistan; or in other areas controlled by the U.S. Military. Questionnaire primarily ...
Apr. 03, 2009
Interview (Questionnaire)
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other