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 (55)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Apr. 16, 2003 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 3544

A memo from Secretary Rumsfeld approving a set of interrogation techniques, including some that it admits may be "inconsistent with" provisions of the Geneva Conventions.  The techniques include "Pride and Ego Down," ...

June 01, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Donald H. Rumsfeld
James T. Hill
Donald H. Rumsfeld, James T. Hill, Richard B. Myers
Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation
June 06, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 727
This Sergeant was assigned to Abu Ghraib prison from May 22, 2003 to November 4, 2003. The Sergeant stated "MPs never used physical force, withheld food, humiliated or otherwise abused detainees as a control measure. Military Police (MP) were ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity
June 03, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 758
Interviewee made more than one trip to AG. First was a an interrogator assigned to AG to review interrogation database/report protocol. Second as a member of Tiger Team. Observed the following techniques, sleep deprivation, altering of meal ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Geoffrey D. Miller, Thomas Pappas
Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation
May 13, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 761
This is the second statement given by this Soldier/Interrogator concerning his observations and activities at Abu Ghraib prison. He states that he did in-fact witness Military Police and Interrogators "slap" and roughly handle detainees, ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
George R. Fay
Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Attention grasp, Assault/death, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Light or sound, Nudity, Threat, Environmental manipulation
May 07, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 830
Interviewee arrived to AG around mid-October as the Day-shift Non-commissioned Officer in Charge. Stated that his/her job was to manage detainee sleep plans, and to make sure the detainees were showered, fed, and did not cause problems. ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Physical assault, General, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Forced grooming, Forced physical training
May 28, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 907
Interviewee was assigned to AG in October 2003 as a member of the Tiger Team. Interviewee recalled an interrogation where a member of the interrogation team was among those attacked/injured in an earlier mortar attack believed to be perpetrated ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Thomas Pappas, Geoffrey D. Miller, George R. Fay
Physical assault, General, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
July 08, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 92
CID Report of investigation into detainee's allegations of abuse while in U.S. custody at Mosul Airport, Iraq, over three day period. The detainee claimed to have sustained a bruise to his left shoulder and scratched during his capture. Once in ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
Jacqueline J. Scott, John Peterson
Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Walling, General, Threat, Assault/death, Family/others, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling
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
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 07, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3121
Emails between Valerie E. Caproni, John F. Curran, T.J. Harrington, and Others re: Reported incidents of possible detainee abuse at Guantanamo Bay. An NAE official reports three incidents he/she witnessed while in Guantanamo Bay on or around ...
Dec. 15, 2004
Email
Thomas J. Harrington
John F. Curran | Valerie E. Caproni
Valerie E. Caproni, Jay W. Hood, Thomas J. Harrington, John F. Curran
Threat, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Other