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 (144)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Aug. 26, 2006 | CID | ACLU-RDI 4528
On 24 Dec 2003 American forces raided a house in the Slaikh Alrabee neighborhood of Baghdad. The men inside were taken in to custody with blindfolds and cuffed behind their backs. The men allege that during their arrest they were abused by being ...
Sept. 24, 2008
Investigative File (CID)
Physical assault, Threat, Assault/death, Family/others, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation, Forced grooming
June 24, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4067
Emails discuss and include a cable from the U.K. Bar Association Chair and others expressing their opinion on interrogation methods utilized by the U.S. military in Iraq and Guantanamo. The U.K. Bar Association Chair stated that the "extreme ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
JoAnn J. Dolan
Edward R. Cummings | Todd F. Buchwald | Joshua L. Dorosin | James H. Thessin
Thomas Malionek, William J. Gehron, JoAnn J. Dolan, Edward R. Cummings, Todd F. Buchwald, Joshua L. Dorosin, James H. Thessin, Michael J. Dennis
Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Forced grooming, Other Humiliation
May 09, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4063
Emails include an Associated Press article that reports on allegations of abuse in Iraq. The article includes accounts of abuse by released detainees, allegations included dog attacks, dietary manipulation and extended periods of hoodings.
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Theresa K. Mitchell | JoAnn J. Dolan | Todd F. Buchwald | Harold L. Ingram
Janis Leigh Karpinski, JoAnn J. Dolan, Todd F. Buchwald, Harold L. Ingram, Lincoln P. Bloomfield, Peter G. Schmeelk , Rose M. Likins, Robin H. Sakoda, William J. Gehron
Rahad Naif, Hassan Naif, Saad Naif, Ra'id Mohammed Hassan
Use of electricity, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other
May 13, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3842

Email includes news articles about high level detainees, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Abu Zubaydah and the "harsh" interrogation methods the CIA employs. The email includes another article, which reports specific accounts of abuse.

Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Jonathan B. Schwartz
Katherine M. Gorove | Michael J. Dennis
George W. Bush, Jonathan B. Schwartz, Katherine M. Gorove, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Frank E. Schmelzer , Michael J. Dennis, Mark P. Lagon, Lorne Craner, Michael G. Kozak, Miriam K. Hughes, Janice A. Smith
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Walid Bin Attash
Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Forced grooming
June 25, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3623
Note states that UK Parliament will issue a report on detainees in Afghanistan, Guantanamo and Iraq, discussing the participation of British intelligence and military officers in interrogations. The report will note that interviews with UK ...
Nov. 23, 2004
Notes
Pierre-Richard Prosper
Pierre-Richard Prosper, William Howard Taft, IV, Joseph A. Ereli, Beth Jones, Frank E. Schmelzer , Tony Blair
Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling
Mar. 06, 2003 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3431
Interview of detainee at Guantanamo. Detainee was shown a photo book wherein he identified Usama bin Laden, but says he never met him. Then he claimed that on a previous occasion two femal interviewers hooded him and had him beaten under questioning.
May 18, 2005
Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Physical assault, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling
Aug. 23, 2002 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3393
Interview of a detainee at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay. The detainee stated he was beaten by U.S. forces at an unknown location in Afghanistan. In one instance, he was taken via helicopter to a location where he was kicked in the stomach by ...
May 18, 2005
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Environmental manipulation, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling
July 27, 2002 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3389
Interview of a detainee at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay. The detainee stated he was at the Kandahar airport for 2-3 months before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay. Stated he was treated harshly by the U.S. in Peshawar and Kandahar. Said he was ...
May 18, 2005
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Physical assault, General, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling
May 22, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3106
These emails are to clarify an Electronic Communication (EC) sent by the FBI's Office of the General Counsel to field agents informing them that they must report incidents of abuse that they know of or become aware of. The initial email requests ...
Dec. 15, 2004
Email
Gary M. Bald | M. Chris Briese | Valerie E. Caproni | Thomas J. Harrington | Frankie Battle | Arthur M. Cummings, II
Gary M. Bald, Valerie E. Caproni, Arthur M. Cummings, II, Frankie Battle, Thomas J. Harrington, M. Chris Briese, George W. Bush
Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, 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