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 (137)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Sept. 06, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6797
Letter from Daniel Levin to John Rizzo discussing whether the use of twelve interrogation techniques in the interrogation of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani would violate any U.S. statute, the U.S. Constitution, or any treaty obligation of the U.S.
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo
Daniel B. Levin
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Daniel B. Levin
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani
EIT, Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Nudity
Sept. 01, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4584

An OLC memo from Daniel Levin (Acting Assistant Attorney General) to John Ashcroft (Attorney General) and James Comey (Deputy Attorney General), updating them on the status of interrogation advice. The letter contains sections for general ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Legal Memo
Daniel B. Levin
John D. Ashcroft | James B. Comey
Daniel B. Levin, John D. Ashcroft, James B. Comey, Jay S. Bybee, Alberto R. Gonzales, John A. Rizzo, John McLaughlin, William J. Haynes, II, John C. Yoo, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Jack L. Goldsmith, Scott W. Muller
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation
Sept. 01, 2004 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6595
The September 2004 memorandum from Daniel Levin to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General provides an update on the status of interrogation advice. The memo includes previously given and current/pending advice for the CIA and DOD.
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo
Daniel B. Levin
Attorney General
Jay S. Bybee, John A. Rizzo, John McLaughlin, William "Jim" Haynes, Scott W. Muller, Jack L. Goldsmith
Use of water, Waterboarding, Face slap or insult slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Physical assault
Aug. 24, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 1338
CID report in to the death of a detainee in US custody. The detainee was brought to the hospital on December 3, 2003 with blunt trauma to the head with bleeding in the brain (determined by CT scan) and died January 4, 2004. This document contains ...
July 15, 2005
Investigative File (CID)
Face slap or insult slap, General, Physical assault
Aug. 18, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 4914
FBI agent states that he entered an interview room at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay and observed an inmate kneeling on the floor with his forehead on the ground. There was a small amount of blood on the floor near the inmate's face. The inmate's ...
Jan. 02, 2007
Email
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Other Humiliation, Sexual
Aug. 02, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1043
20 year old male detainee referred by CID. Reports he was slapped in the face by coalition forces. Reports after he was slapped, he fell into barbed wire and cut the tip fo his left ring finder. Also has a twisted ankle from running. Received ...
Apr. 18, 2005
Medical (Physical (non-death))
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Other
Aug. 02, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1118
The purpose of the memo was to provide updated information on the courts-martial involving allegations of military police's abuse against detainees in Abu Gharib Prison in Iraq. It outlines courts-martial on seven military police charged with ...
May 16, 2005
Legal Memo, UCMJ (Court-Martial)
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Sexual, Threat, Assault/death, Stress positions, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Forced physical training
July 30, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1071
This is a follow-up medical exam for a 74 year-old detainee who alleges he was hit in the eye by coaliton forces two days prior to exam. Eye shows evidence of possible abuse. Referred to CID. CID# 0262-04-CID259-80294
Apr. 18, 2005
Medical (Physical (non-death))
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap
July 30, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1072
Male detainee reports he was struck in the head with the butt of a weapon by coalition forces. Face has markings that could be consistant with abuse. Referred to CID. CID #
Apr. 18, 2005
Medical (Physical (non-death))
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap
July 15, 2004 | FBI | ACLU-RDI 3081
Email details FBI investigation of mistreatment, abuse or "highly aggressive" treatment of detainees in Iraq that are known or observed by FBI agents who have cycled through Guantanamo. The email states that fourteen (14) agents have witnessed ...
Dec. 15, 2004
Email
Marion E. Bowman
Valerie E. Caproni
Marion E. Bowman, Valerie E. Caproni, Thomas J. Harrington, Steven C. McCraw, J. Stephen Tidwell, Janice K. Fedarcyk, Patrick W. Kelley, Frankie Battle, M. Chris Briese, Patrick Leahy, Gary M. Bald, Arthur M. Cummings, II, Eleni P. Kalisch, Kenneth L. Wainstein, Cassandra M. Chandler, John S. Pistole, Hector M. Pesquera
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Other