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 (56)

CIA summary of 60 Minutes program on detainee abuse in Iraq. The summary details the program's review of the released Abu Ghraib photos and some of the U.S. army officials involved in the scandal.
This document, prepared by the Chief of Medical Services, summarizes and reflects upon the rendition, detention and interrogation program. The findings include that in a particular no evidence was found that the use of waterboard produced ...
This document, prepared by the Chief of Medical Services, summarizes and reflects upon the rendition, detention and interrogation program. The findings include that in a particular no evidence was found that the use of waterboard produced ...
This February 27, 2004 memo from James L. Pavitt, Deputy Director for Operations to the Inspector General, discusses the success of the CIA's new counterterrorism detention and interrogation program, by providing detailed accounts of the use of ...
Non-legal Memo
James Pavitt
Inspector General
EIT, Use of water
This document is a memorandum from the chief of the Counterintelligence Evaluation Branch of the Counterespionage Group in the Counterintelligence Center about an interview conducted with John B. Jessen regarding the death of Gul Rahman.
This memorandum describes the chronology of events relating to the death of Gul Rahman at the COBALT facility.
Sept. 02, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Gul Rahman
EIT
This memorandum describes the plan for obtaining cooperation of Gul Rahman, including possible enhanced interrogation due to the fact that Rahman is likely withholding valuable information.
Sept. 02, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Gul Rahman
EIT
This memorandum states that an individual in custody after a raid is possibly Gul Rahman and that the station will work to make a positive identification.
Sept. 02, 2016
Non-legal Memo
Gul Rahman
EIT
This CIA document is heavily redacted and identifies James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen as contractors who administered enhanced interrogation techniques to Abu Zubaydah and Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
Dec. 20, 2016
Non-legal Memo
James Mitchell , Bruce Jessen
Abu Zubaydah, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
EIT