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 (87)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Feb. 12, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 297
Testimony of Mr. John Israel. Mr. Israel is a US Civilian Contract linguist/Interpreter hired by the Department of Defense through the Titan Corporation and assigned to the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade to assist in detainee interrogations ...
Oct. 19, 2004
Interview (Transcript, Statement)
Antonio Taguba, David D. McKiernan, John Israel, John P. Abizaid, Thomas Pappas
Feb. 13, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 294
Testimony of Sergeant Michael Smith, Army Dog Handler. In discussing how the dog(s) under his control are used. SGT Smith said "Dogs are used at the last level, before deadly force, to prevent escape. I've never had to use my dog in my uses of ...
Oct. 19, 2004
Interview (Transcript)
Michael Smith, Thomas Pappas
Use of phobias
Apr. 05, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 755
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
Apr. 27, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 666
Sworn statement of Staff Sergeant Deployed to Abu Ghraib Correctional Facility, Abu Ghraib, Iraq October 2003. The SSG stated they were given a tour of the facility including the screening sites, Hard Site, and Camp Vigilant, but did not observe ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Thomas Pappas, Ricardo Sanchez
Use of phobias
Apr. 27, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 671
Sworn statement. Interviewee arrived to AG on October 15, 2003 for the purpose of conducting interrogation operations. The interviewee recalled requesting and receiving approval for the use of dogs for an interrogation, stated that the dogs were ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Thomas Pappas
Use of phobias
Apr. 27, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 672
Sworn statement from a Civilian assigned to AG as an interrogator. He/she did not recall observing abuse at Abu Ghraib prison. The gentleman did say "I did not witness or know about any detainee abuse or any photos of detainees. I did not witness ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Thomas Pappas
Use of phobias
Apr. 27, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 749
Interviewee arrived to AG in October 2003 as a Civilian Interrogator. Reported seeing an MP shoot a detainee with a rubber bullet. Did not hear of requests to 'soften up' detainees. Did remember seeing and hearing dogs, and did hear that the ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Thomas Pappas
Physical assault, General, Use of phobias, Nudity, Other Humiliation, Other
Apr. 27, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 766
Interviewee was assigned to AG in early October 2003 as a CACI Interrogator. Recalled the use of sleep management/deprivation. Recalled an occasion where a dog was present during an interrogation, but stated it was not planned.
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Thomas Pappas
Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation
Apr. 27, 2004 | DOD | ACLU-RDI 834
Interviewee arrived at AG on October 23, 2003 in order to conduct interrogation operations. Interviewee recalled an incident in December where a dog was used during the interrogation of an Iraqi Police (IP) detainee. Interviewee also noted that ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Transcript)
Thomas Pappas, Ricardo Sanchez
Use of phobias
Apr. 27, 2004 | DOA | ACLU-RDI 862
This statement of a CACI civilian contractor for the Dept. of Defense who states that he arrived at Abu Ghraib Prison on October 5, 2003. He states that "The Joint interrogation Debriefing Center Commander gave all new arrivals a down and dirty ...
Mar. 03, 2005
Interview (Statement)
Thomas Pappas, Ricardo Sanchez, Janis Leigh Karpinski
Physical assault, General, Nudity