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 (185)

Sworn Statement of a Sergeant assigned to Abu Ghraib prison. The Sgt. recalled finding a detainee naked in their cell, the detainee was identified as a high level official. Recalled the detainee was embarrassed about being naked in the cell ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Thomas Pappas
Physical assault, General, Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Nudity
Emails discuss and include a cable from the U.K. Bar Association Chair and others expressing their opinion on interrogation methods utilized by the U.S. military in Iraq and Guantanamo. The U.K. Bar Association Chair stated that the "extreme ...
Interviewee was in AG on or around December 20, 2003. Recalled hearing unusual sounds coming from the segregation hole in the isolation wing. Recalled hearing the detainee being hit or falling. Stated he/she and [redacted]were uncomfortable ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript, Questionnaire)
Ricardo Sanchez, Thomas Pappas
Physical assault, General, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation
Memo-Interview of a Tiger Team member assigned to the 1st Military Intelligence Battalion, 205th Military Intelligence Brigade. Noted that on an "interrogation plan form there were two columns of procedures listed. The first column listed the ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Summaries/Notes)
Use of water, Other, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Other
Interview of a civilian contractor with the Titan Corp. assigned to Abu Ghraib prison as an interrogator. The gentleman recalls several incidents of detainees being inappropriately treated before, during and after interrogations. He specifically ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, Walling, General, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual

Approximately 73-year-old Iraqi woman reported that she had been subjected to assault and sexual abuse, including being sodomized with a stick and touched in private areas; that she was forced to "swim" in water thrown on ...

Interviewee was assigned to AG from October 7-21, 2003 as a member of the Mobile Training Team. Interviewee noted, "I did see detainees in various states of dress to include nakedness and detainees. The MPs used segregation and stripping as a ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Nudity, Other
Memo discusses notes taken on June 9, 2004 from a telephonic interview with [redacted] concerning his knowledge of abuse at AG. The interviewee stated he never observed or heard of detainee abuse and/or nudity. Interviewee did state he believed ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Non-legal Memo
Physical assault, Sexual, Isolation, Nudity
Interviewee was assigned to AG from May 23, 2003 to October 15, 2003 as the Iraqi Survey Group of the 72 Military Police Company. Interviewee recalled an incident where [redacted] had several detainees moved into the sun. Later, the detainees ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Geoffrey D. Miller, Thomas Pappas
Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Nudity