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 (6709)

This November 27, 2007 memo justifies the future use of contractors as High Value Detainee Interrogators (HVDI). The memo states that before September 11, 2001 the CIA had no resident expertise in interrogation and therefore contract ...
This memo describes the "key" role that contract interrogators/debriefers play in the CIA's Rendition and Detention Program. The memo states that before September 11, 2001 the CIA had no resident expertise in interrogation, and so they sought ...
Dec. 20, 2016
Non-legal Memo
EIT, SERE
This cable describes the enhanced interrogation techniques that interrogation teams can employ, pending approval and sets forth federal law which limits the use of these techniques by U.S. government personnel and requires that interrogation ...
This February 1, 2003 memo from James Mitchell sets forth his relevant experience and qualifications for providing "psychological consultation to interrogation programs".
Dec. 20, 2016
Non-legal Memo
James Mitchell
James Mitchell
This January 8, 2003 cable sets forth observations that were derived from the process leading up to the establishment of [redacted], activities undertaken at the base, including the interrogation process, and ramifications for conduct that is ...
This cable describes a redacted detainee's behavior on the twelfth day of a three week isolation phase.
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
Isolation
This cable describes a redacted detainee's behavior on the twelfth day of a three week isolation phase.
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
Isolation
This cable describes a redacted detainee's behavior on the eleventh day of a three week isolation phase.
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
Isolation
This cable describes a redacted detainee's behavior on the tenth day of a three week isolation phase.
Dec. 20, 2016
Cable
Isolation