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 (888)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Jan. 31, 2001 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4705
State Department Talking points memo on the screening of Al-Qaeda and Taliban detainees taken in to custody. The points being made in this memo are: i) The Geneva Conventions does not require a review in every circumstance; ii) Al-Qaeda and ...
Oct. 23, 2002 | WH | ACLU-RDI 4707
White House Cover Sheet re: Routing and Transmittal Slip. No additional in formation or comments.
Nov. 13, 2001 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4703
This State Department Fact Sheet on the President's establishment of Military Commissions lists talking points on addressing issues and questions that might arise. The points highlight the following: i) The Order applies only to non-U.S. ...
June 08, 2005
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld
Nov. 13, 2001 | WH | ACLU-RDI 4704
Presidential Military Order concerning the Detention, Treatment and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War against Terrorism. The Order is the basis for the authority to apprehend, detain and place on trial via Military Commissions persons who ...
June 08, 2005
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush
George W. Bush, Donald H. Rumsfeld
Mar. 19, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4700
State Department cable stating that the U.S. has come to an agreement to return five (5) Guantanamo detainees back to their home country. The agreement includes assurances from the receiving country that the detainees will receive humane ...
June 08, 2005
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, Ronald W. Miller, Pierre-Richard Prosper
Mar. 10, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4701
State Department email forwarded by JoAnn Dolan from Robert Harris concerning Human Rights Watch report critical of U.S. Action in Afghanistan. Mr. Harris' email has the comment "Human Rights Watch in the past few days issued a highly critical ...
May 04, 2005
Email
JoAnn J. Dolan
Eliana Davidson | Laura Parsky | David Nahmias | Patrick Philbin | Chuck Allen | Karen Hecker
JoAnn J. Dolan, Robert K. Harris, Michael G. Kozak, Mark P. Lagon, Thomas A. Johnson, Joshua L. Dorosin, Lynn M. Sicade, Charles A. Allen, Eliana Davidson, Karen L. Hecker, John B. Wiegmann, Laura H. Parsky, James A. McAtamney, David E. Nahmias, Patrick Philbin, Ronald W. Miller, Jennifer Koester, John B. Bellinger, III, Jack L. Goldsmith, William Howard Taft, IV, Steven A. Solomon, Michael T. Peay
Mar. 18, 2003 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4699
This memo is to address questions and concerns over the status and treatment of Guantanamo detainees. The memo states that: 1) the U.S. does not permit, tolerate or condone torture; 2) Detainees get excellent medical care; 3) the Al-Qaeda ...
June 08, 2005
Cable
Colin L. Powell
Colin L. Powell, George W. Bush
July 07, 2004 | ACLU-RDI 4692
White House Cover Sheet re: Detainees - International Committee of the Red Cross
June 08, 2005
Letter
John Bellinger
William Howard Taft, IV | Patrick Philbin | William J. Haynes, II
John B. Bellinger, III, William J. Haynes, II, William Howard Taft, IV, Patrick Philbin
Feb. 24, 2004 | DOS | ACLU-RDI 4693
Ms. Sanford attacheda document with notes on the Guantanamo detainee issue from the American Bar Association meeting of February 24, 2004 with the following comment: "Marc Bonora (an attorney at Kirkland Ellis and classmate of mine) and I ...
May 04, 2005
Email
Christina A. Sanford
Edward R. Cummings | Todd F. Buchwald | JoAnn J. Dolan
Edward R. Cummings, Todd F. Buchwald, JoAnn J. Dolan, Christina A. Sanford
Feb. 07, 2002 | WH | ACLU-RDI 4684
This White House memo discusses the treatment of detainees taken in the War on Terror and how they are to be classified and the determination of their legal status.
June 08, 2005
Non-legal Memo
George W. Bush
Richard B. Cheney | Colin L. Powell | Donald H. Rumsfeld | John D. Ashcroft | I. Lewis Libby | George Tenet | Condoleeza Rice
George W. Bush, Richard B. Cheney, Colin L. Powell, John D. Ashcroft, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, I. Lewis Libby, George J. Tenet