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 (201)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
May 29, 2004 | OJAG | ACLU-RDI 1827
OJAG email to DOD officials, the email discusses the initiation of a CID investigation into alleged detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib.
May 28, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 1828
Email from DOD to DOD reminding officials to refrain from abusing and mistreating detainees.
June 26, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 1829
Emails discuss raids and questions the authority of the ING.
Apr. 22, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 1830
Emails discuss a parole program for Iraqi detainees in order to deal with the problem of lengthy detentions. LTC [Redacted] states in the email, "[w]e hold detainees so long that there is no hope of getting actionable intelligence."
June 17, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 1831
Emails discuss what is needed to accept a detainee into a facility.
Mar. 05, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 1832
Emails discuss the flawed judicial system currently in place. Among the problems is the length detainment of prisoners, who have committed petty crimes. The author explains that the "individual will sit in jail for 6 months for a small theft ...
Apr. 25, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 1833
Emails discuss the current status of 36 detainees captured in March/April 2004 and their status. [Names redacted].
Apr. 22, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 1834
Emails discuss the need to decrease the investigation period and improve the investigation process. One author states " ...our process is drawn out and inefficient."
Aug. 30, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 1835
Emails discuss a detainee's allegation that he was butt stroked in the face by a Soldier after being captured, while blindfolded and flexcuffed.
Dec. 21, 2005
Email
Physical assault, General, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling
May 28, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 1836
Email from DOD to DOD reminding officials to refrain from abusing and mistreating detainees.