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 (44)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
June 04, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 868
Sworn statement of a Sergeant who arrived to Abu Ghraib prison at the end of July 2003 to December 16, 2003 with the advanced party as an interrogator. The Sgt recalled the use of unmuzzled dogs, along with loud music. He recalled interrogating ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Thomas Pappas, Ricardo Sanchez
Use of phobias, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual
June 10, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 14

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 ...

Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID), Photograph
Jacqueline J. Scott, Nelson van Eck, Thom Jones
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, Sexual, General, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation, Sexual
July 21, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 29

Investigation initiated on the basis of a report by a serviceman's wife that he had a photograph of himself pointing a gun at the head of a bound and hooded detainee. When interviewed, the soldier explained that he was following orders and ...

Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, General, Threat, Assault/death, Stress positions, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling
July 05, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 91
Investigation prompted by NYT article containing victim's allegations of torture and abuse during detention in Abu Ghraib from November 29 through December 31, 2003. Investigation concludes there is not “sufficient evidence to prove or disprove ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
Jacqueline J. Scott, John Peterson
Bisher Amin Khalil al Rawi
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, General, Threat, Assault/death, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation
July 08, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 92
CID Report of investigation into detainee's allegations of abuse while in U.S. custody at Mosul Airport, Iraq, over three day period. The detainee claimed to have sustained a bruise to his left shoulder and scratched during his capture. Once in ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
Jacqueline J. Scott, John Peterson
Use of water, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Walling, General, Threat, Assault/death, Family/others, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling
July 02, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 105
Investigations into numerous alleged abuses at Abu Ghraib Prison and Al-Ademeya Palace based on reports from CACI and Titan translation employees. Alleged abuses include the physical beatings and humiliation of various detainees, forced exercise ...
Dec. 30, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
Jacqueline J. Scott, John Peterson
Use of water, Water dousing, Other, Physical assault, Sexual, General, Threat, Assault/death, Family/others, Use of electricity, Stress positions, Use of phobias, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Sexual, Religious, Forced physical training
June 29, 2004 | CID | ACLU-RDI 121

Investigation into possible abuse in Tikrit, Iraq. A detainee alleged that he had been slapped in the face by an Iraqi interpreter during an interrogation and said that he had been held in a cramped cell with loud music, not allowed food, ...

Nov. 08, 2004
Investigative File (CID)
Physical assault, General, Cramped confinement, Dietary manipulation, Light or sound, Environmental manipulation
Oct. 03, 2003 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 237
Interrogation Rules of Engagement for the 205th MI Brigade, Iraq. Sets forth techniques for use on detainees, of which, including isolation for more than 30 days and the presence of military working dogs, requires the Commanding General's ...
Oct. 19, 2004
Non-legal Memo, Other
Stress positions, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Temperature
Feb. 10, 2004 | DOA | OJAG | ACLU-RDI 255
This is the transcript of a deposition of a colonel in the JAG Corps describing his duties as the JAG officer assigned to the 800th Military Police Brigade. He describes his chain of command, his knowledge of Abu Ghraib prison and his knowledge ...
Oct. 19, 2004
Interview (Transcript)
Antonio Taguba, Paul Hill, Donald Campbell, Janis Leigh Karpinski
Use of water, Other, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Nudity
Feb. 10, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 277
Testimony of First Lieutenant Lewis C. Raeder, Platoon Leader, 372nd Military Police Company. 1st LT. Raeder briefly described how his unit was deployed and then stated "We didn't receive any training at the MOB station; None of the training was ...
Oct. 19, 2004
Interview (Transcript)
Antonio Taguba, David D. McKiernan, Lewis C. Raeder, Donald J. Reese , Thomas Pappas
Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity