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 (570)

Interviewee arrived at AG on or about November 22-23, 2003. Recalled once using a dog during interrogation. Stated the dog was in the far side of the room and kept away from the detainee. Stated that he/she did not witness detainee abuse. ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Thomas Pappas
Physical assault, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation
Interviewee was the Platoon Sergeant for the 4th Platoon of the 372nd Military Police Company, he/she arrived on October 1, 2003. Recalled hearing about a soldier take a female detainee into the wood shack, but did not recall the specifics of ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Thomas Pappas
Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other Humiliation
Sworn statement of a Sergeant First Class (SFC) who arrived to Abu Ghraib prison in December 2003. The SFC recalled seeing a sign regarding the stripping down of a detainee and his cell for security purposes. The SFC inquired and the orders were ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Nudity
Interviewee arrived to AG as an interrogator. Recalled an incident with a detainee who "made physical contact" with the interrogator's analyst, as a result the detainee was placed against the wall, upon pushing the analyst, the interrogation ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Physical assault, General, Threat, Nudity
Interviewee was assigned to AG as a Member of the Military Intelligence Group (dates unknown). Recalled seeing MPs make detainees perform physical exercise, while yelling at them. This occurred either before a detainee was interrogated, but it ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript, Questionnaire)
Use of water, Other, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Sleep deprivation, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Forced physical training
Interviewee was in AG approximately August 23, 2003 as a member of the Internal Reaction Force. Observed an MI yell at a detainee and hit the detainee in the back of the head with a closed fist. Also, observed another MI soldier put a ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript, Questionnaire)
Physical assault, Walling, General, Use of phobias, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity
Interviewee arrived to AG in October 2003, was assigned to the prison. Stated that he/she would receive instructions from MI regarding sleep management of detainees. Stated that he/she was unaware of detainee humiliation, however, due to ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Thomas Pappas
Physical assault, General, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Environmental manipulation, Hooding/Goggling, Other Humiliation

Interview summary of First Lieutenant conducted by a team of officers at the direction of Major General Antonio Taguba. The 1LT was in charge of the Internal Reaction Force (IRF), and provided escort guards within the confines of Abu Ghraib ...

Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript, Statement)
Antonio Taguba
Antonio Taguba, David D. McKiernan, Thomas Pappas
Physical assault, General, Assault/death, Threat

Telephonic interview of a Military Intelligence interrogator (Rank & Rate unknown) regarding detainee interrogations at Abu Ghraib prison. The MI Interrogator stated "I never placed any of my detainees on sleep deprivation. I did use a stress ...

Mar. 03, 2005
Non-legal Memo, Interview (Transcript, Statement)
Stress positions, Sleep deprivation, Isolation, Nudity, Other Humiliation
Interviewee was assigned to AG in early October as a the day shift Supervisor of Tier 1-3. Stated that he/she was unaware of detainee abuse and photos until it was reported on TV. Did recall, in mid-December "[o]ne day as I was walking the hard ...