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 (6709)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Feb. 19, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3825
DOS Cable discussing allegations that the U.S. Army abused prisoners at Guantanamo. An English newspaper, 'Bahrain Tribune,' reported that U.S. prison guards beat an ailing Bahraini detainee, Juma Al-Dossari.
Dec. 30, 2004
Cable
Valerie C. Fowler, Karl W. Hofmann, William P. Marriott, Harry R. Melone, Charles L. Daris, Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush, Ronald E. Neumann, C. David Welch, Stephen Bondy
Juma Mohammed Abdul Latif al Dosari
Physical assault, General
Nov. 25, 2003 | Non-US | ACLU-RDI 3826
This is a fax cover sheet from the Embassy of Australia discussing a press release on military commissions. [The press release is not included].
Dec. 30, 2004
Letter
Andrew Shearer
Pierre-Richard Prosper
Andrew Shearer, L.R. Lohman, Harry R. Melone, Pierre-Richard Prosper
Mar. 08, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3827
Email refers to a Human Rights Watch report on abuse by U.S. forces at detention facilities in Afghanistan. The report alleges that U.S. forces operating in Afghanistan have arbitrarily detained civilians, used excessive force and mistreated ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Robert K. Harris
JoAnn J. Dolan | Ed Cummings | Joshua L. Dorosin | Todd F. Buchwald
Robert K. Harris, JoAnn J. Dolan, Edward R. Cummings, Joshua L. Dorosin, Todd F. Buchwald, Monica J. Tillery, George W. Bush
May 06, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3829
DOS Press Release of a CNN Interview of Richard L. Armitage discussing the administration's response to a "detainee scandal."
Dec. 30, 2004
Other
George W. Bush, Richard Lee Armitage, Colin L. Powell, Donald H. Rumsfeld
May 18, 2004 | Legislative | ACLU-RDI 3830
The hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee met on May 18, 2004 to continue their ongoing oversight of American policy toward Iraq. The hearing was held in anticipation of the U.S. handing over sovereignty to the Iraqi government six ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Interview (Transcript)
Richard Green Lugar, Richard Lee Armitage, Paul Wolfowitz, Walter L. Sharp, Frank E. Schmelzer , John Dimitri Negroponte, L. Paul Bremer, Marc Grossman, John P. Abizaid, Ricardo Sanchez, Russell Dana Feingold, Carter F. Ham, Charles Timothy Hagel, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Lincoln Davenport Chafee, Barbara Levy Boxer , Samuel Dale Brownback, Mark Traecey Patrick Kimmitt, Paul Spyros Sarbanes, Christopher John Dodd, George V. Voinovich, Norman Bertram Coleman, Jr., Ben Nelson, David Petraeus, Jon Stevens Corzine
May 19, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3831
Press release discussing, generally, the U.S. government's goal towards disarmament and democracy in Iraq.
Dec. 30, 2004
Other
James B. Cunningham
James B. Cunningham, George W. Bush, Frank E. Schmelzer
May 26, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3832
Roundtable interview with Secretary of State, Colin L. Powell. On May 26. 2004, Mr. Powell answered a series of questions from journalists regarding allegations of detainee abuse in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.
Dec. 30, 2004
Other
Frank E. Schmelzer , Antonio Taguba, Colin L. Powell, Richard Green Lugar, Tom Lantos, Henry J. Hyde, George W. Bush, Condoleeza Rice, Richard B. Cheney, Donald H. Rumsfeld, John D. Ashcroft
June 16, 2004 | ACLU-RDI 3833
Press release from the ICRC discussing the Geneva Convention's policy on a state's mistreatment of detainees, prisoners of war and internees.
Dec. 30, 2004
Other
Frank E. Schmelzer
June 17, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3834
This DOS memo appears to be talking points for a John Dimitri Negroponte interview with Jim Lehrer on topics, including detainee abuse, detainee policy, and Saddam Hussein.
Dec. 30, 2004
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush, Frank E. Schmelzer , John Dimitri Negroponte
June 22, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 3835
Email discusses and includes a press release of a press briefing with Judge Alberto Gonzales. Judge Gonzales discusses, generally, the war on terror.
Dec. 30, 2004
Email
Thomas A. Johnson
Ed Cummings | Christopher N. Camponovo
Thomas A. Johnson, Edward R. Cummings, Christopher N. Camponovo, Alberto R. Gonzales, Russell K. LaMotte, Jacob K. Cogan, Rosemary A. DiCarlo, Janis Chapman-Gates, Susan P. Suh, Richard Grenell , Monica L. Cummings, Eric L. Owens , Daniel Dell'Orto, Keith B. Alexander, George W. Bush, William J. Haynes, II, Jay S. Bybee, John C. Yoo, Scott McClellan, James T. Hill, Mary Walker, Geoffrey D. Miller, John P. Abizaid, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Newt Minow, Lloyd Cutler
Mohammed al Qahtani, Jose Padilla, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed