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 (156)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
June 10, 2004 | DIA | ACLU-RDI 188
A civilian employee (CE) of the DIA reports in this memo his observation and allegation of violations of the Geneva Convention concerning detainee abuse and the illegal detainment of non-combatants. The CE alleges that he witnessed the ...
Nov. 08, 2004
Non-legal Memo
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Threat, Family/others
June 09, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1053
A 17 year-old Iraqi male detainee, Basim Mohammed Hussein, complains of back pain after being beaten by coalition forces. Claims to have been beaten at a house near Al-Adamiya Palace. He was beaten for eight days, including having his head was ...
Apr. 18, 2005
Medical (Physical (non-death))
Basim Mohammed Hussein
Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, General, Use of electricity, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
June 04, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2525
Memo regarding interviews conducted at the DCCP (Displaced Civilian Collection Point) on May 31, 2004. Detainee claims that "while at an unknown location he received no food or water and could not sleep due to very loud American music blaring the ...
June 30, 2006
Non-legal Memo
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Cramped confinement, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound
May 25, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 2494
Collection of five (5) sworn statements about abuse in detention facilities in Iraq, attached to ACLU-RDI 2493. None of the statements report witnessing any physical abuse at Abu Ghraib, but all recount claims by detainees of abuse at other ...
June 30, 2006
Interview (Statement)
George R. Fay
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Sexual, General, Threat, Family/others, Use of phobias, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
May 23, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 4759
A 30 year-old male Iraqi detainee states he received maltreatment at the hands of US forces at the Mosul Airport.The detainee reports being beaten when he was arrested. He states he was hooded; had hands tied behind his back; placed in a cold ...
Apr. 18, 2005
Medical (Physical (non-death))
Face slap or insult slap, General, Dietary manipulation, Other, Physical assault
May 13, 2004 | NCIS | ACLU-RDI 533

This NCIS memo summarizes six (6) separate investigations and one preliminary inquiry regarding the death or alleged mistreatment of enemy Prisoners of War (EPWs). Portions of the report are redacted in full, but the portions that are ...

Nov. 23, 2004
Non-legal Memo, Investigative File (NCIS)
Farhad Mohamed, Manadel Al-Jamadi, Hemdan Haby Heshfan El Gashame, Naeem Sadun Hatab
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, General, Other
May 13, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 761
This is the second statement given by this Soldier/Interrogator concerning his observations and activities at Abu Ghraib prison. He states that he did in-fact witness Military Police and Interrogators "slap" and roughly handle detainees, ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
George R. Fay
Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Attention grasp, Assault/death, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Light or sound, Nudity, Threat, Environmental manipulation
May 09, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1064
Medical report on a 30-Year-Old Iraqi male detainee wherein the detainee claims he was "tortured" and "[electrical] shocks" were used on him when he was interrogated. The medical exam did not show signs of trauma or abuse as complained of.
Apr. 18, 2005
Medical (Physical (non-death))
Face slap or insult slap, General, Use of electricity, Physical assault
May 07, 2004 | CIA-OIG | ACLU-RDI 4611

This May 7, 2004 Special Review by the CIA’s Office of the Inspector General examines the CIA’s counterterrorism detention and interrogation activities, including the apparently unauthorized use of mock executions, a hand gun, a ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Oversight Report
John L. Helgerson
John C. Yoo, John A. Rizzo, George J. Tenet, Jay S. Bybee
Abu Zubaydah, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Mustafa Ahmed al Hawsawi, Jose Padilla, Binyam Mohamed, Riduan "Hambali" Isamuddin, Majid Khan, Mohd Farik Bin Amin, Saifullah Paracha
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Threat, Assault/death, Rendition, Family/others, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation
May 04, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 1062
a medical screening form for a 33 year-old Iraqi male detainee. The medical report does not indicate any abuse or current injuries. The report notes a burn on the patient's lower back, but gives no indication as to how the injury was incurred or ...
Apr. 18, 2005
Medical (Physical (non-death))
Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, General, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Forced physical training