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 (8)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Jan. 13, 2004 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 6731
This memo is a response from a redacted doctor to a request from the CIA Inspector General for comments on the "Draft Special Review--Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Program" report (2003-7123-IG). Everything but the envelope ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Non-legal Memo
John L. Helgerson
John L. Helgerson
June 22, 2004 | CIA-OGC | ACLU-RDI 6609
This letter from Scott Muller explains that Jack Goldsmith's letter to George Tenet, Director of the CIA, was forwarded to the Inspector General and that his office would decide whether the suggested changes to the Special Review would be made. ...
Aug. 31, 2016
Letter
Scott W. Muller
Jack L. Goldsmith
Jack L. Goldsmith, Scott W. Muller, George J. Tenet, John L. Helgerson
Abu Zubaydah
EIT
July 02, 2004 | CIA-OIG | ACLU-RDI 6610
This letter from John Helgerson, Inspector General of the CIA, to Jack Goldsmith of the OLC addresses the DOJ's proposed modifications to the IG report. Helgerson writes, "we have carefully reviewed the comments of the [DOJ] regarding the Special ...
Aug. 31, 2016
Letter
John L. Helgerson
Jack L. Goldsmith
John L. Helgerson, Jack L. Goldsmith, George J. Tenet, Pat Roberts, Porter Goss, John D. Rockefeller, IV, Jane Harman
Jan. 13, 2004 | CIA | ACLU-RDI 6531
This heavily redacted memorandum contains comments from Medical Services on the Counterterrorism Detention and Investigation Program. The memorandum mentions OMS concerns about a conflict of interest in which the only individuals approved to ...
June 10, 2016
Non-legal Memo
John L. Helgerson
Jan. 29, 2004 | CIA-OIG | ACLU-RDI 5073

This memo from the CIA's Inspector General, John L. Helgerson, notifies members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives of investigations into the deaths of Manadal al-Jamaidi and Avid Hamad Mahawish Al-Malalawi in Iraq.

Mar. 15, 2013
Non-legal Memo
John L. Helgerson
Pat Murray | Suzanne Spalding | Bill Dunkhe | Chris Mellon | Jerry Lewis | Ted Stevens
John L. Helgerson, Pat Murray, Suzanne Spalding, Bill Duhnke, Chris Mellon, Jerry Lewis, Ted Stevens
Manadel Al-Jamadi, Abed Hamed Mowhoush
June 22, 2004 | CIA-OGC | ACLU-RDI 4571

This letter from Scott Muller explains that Jack Goldsmith's letter to George Tenet, Director of the CIA, was forwarded to the Inspector General and that his office would decide whether the suggested changes to the Special Review would be ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Letter
Scott W. Muller
Jack L. Goldsmith
Scott W. Muller, Jack L. Goldsmith, George J. Tenet, John L. Helgerson
Abu Zubaydah
EIT
July 02, 2004 | CIA-OIG | ACLU-RDI 4572

This letter from John Helgerson, Inspector General of the CIA, to Jack Goldsmith of the OLC addresses the DOJ's proposed modifications to the IG report. Helgerson writes, "we have carefully reviewed the comments of the [DOJ] regarding the ...

Aug. 24, 2009
Letter
John L. Helgerson
Jack L. Goldsmith
John L. Helgerson, Jack L. Goldsmith, George J. Tenet, Pat Roberts, Porter Goss, John D. Rockefeller, IV, Jane Harman
May 07, 2004 | CIA-OIG | ACLU-RDI 4525

A heavily redacted version of a report authored by the CIA's Office of the Inspector General.  The report was later released in less-redacted form.  It discusses the CIA's use of the "enhanced interrogation techniques," ...

May 27, 2008
Oversight Report
John L. Helgerson
John C. Yoo, George J. Tenet, George W. Bush, John L. Helgerson, John A. Rizzo, John McLaughlin
Abu Zubaydah, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding