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 (75)

RelevanceDateRelease Date
Aug. 31, 2006 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6548
This August 31, 2006 OLC memo from Steven Bradbury to John Rizzo discusses whether particular "standards conditions of detention" at certain CIA facilities located overseas are consistent with the applicable standards of the Detainee Treatment Act.
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Steven G. Bradbury
Aug. 31, 2006 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6563
This letter from Steven Bradbury to John Rizzo memorializes the advice that Bradbury gave to Rizzo regarding whether the conditions of confinement used by the CIA in its covert overseas facilities are consistent with common Article 3 of the 1949 ...
Aug. 31, 2016
Letter
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
Steven G. Bradbury, John A. Rizzo
Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Other
Aug. 31, 2006 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6796
A letter providing legal advice regarding whether the conditions of detention at certain overseas CIA facilities are consistent with the applicable standards of the DTA. It concludes that the conditions of confinement did not constitute "cruel, ...
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Steven G. Bradbury
EIT, Cramped confinement, Isolation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Forced grooming, Other Humiliation
June 01, 2006 | CIA-OGC | ACLU-RDI 6631
This document is a fax from John Rizzo to Steven Bradbury containing Mr. Rizzo's draft Q&A responses for an upcoming hearing on detention and interrogation.
Aug. 31, 2016
Cable
John A. Rizzo
Steven G. Bradbury
Steven G. Bradbury, John A. Rizzo, John C. Yoo, Jay S. Bybee, William J. Haynes, II, Jack L. Goldsmith, Alberto R. Gonzales, Scott W. Muller, Daniel B. Levin, John Ashcroft
EIT
May 30, 2005 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4551

An OLC memo addressing whether certain enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA are consistent with the United States's obligations under Article 16 of the United Nations Convention Agsinst Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or ...

Apr. 16, 2009
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Steven G. Bradbury, Daniel B. Levin, Jack L. Goldsmith, Jay S. Bybee, George J. Tenet, William J. Haynes, II
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Riduan "Hambali" Isamuddin, Majid Khan, Mohd Farik Bin Amin, Jose Padilla
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Nudity
May 30, 2005 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6547
This May 30, 2005 OLC memo from Steven Bradbury to John Rizzo discusses whether certain enhanced interrogation techniques employed by the CIA in the interrogation of high value al Qaeda detainees are consistent with U.S. obligations under Article ...
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
Steven G. Bradbury, John A. Rizzo
EIT
May 30, 2005 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6795
An OLC memo addressing whether certain enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA are consistent with the United States's obligations under Article 16 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading ...
Aug. 31, 2016
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
John A. Rizzo, Steven G. Bradbury, Daniel B. Levin, Jay S. Bybee, Jack L. Goldsmith, Scott W. Muller, George J. Tenet
Janat Gul, Hassan Ghul, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Abd Al-Rahim Al-Nashiri
EIT, Use of water, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Nudity
May 20, 2005 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 6562
This letter from Steven Bradbury, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, confirms that the legal guidance of the Attorney General's office as stated in a December 14, 2004 letter from Daniel Levin to John Rizzo, still pertains.
Aug. 31, 2016
Letter
Steve Bradbury
John A. Rizzo, Daniel B. Levin, Steven G. Bradbury
May 10, 2005 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4549

An OLC memo concluding that the CIA’s interrogation techniques do not violate the torture statute if used individually.

Apr. 16, 2009
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
Steven G. Bradbury, John A. Rizzo, James B. Comey, Daniel B. Levin, John L. Helgerson, George J. Tenet, Jay S. Bybee, George W. Bush
EIT, SERE, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Use of phobias, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Nudity, Use of water, Physical assault
May 10, 2005 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4986

An OLC memo addressing whether the combined use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" (including waterboarding) violates the prohibition on torture.  The memo concludes that it would not.

Apr. 16, 2009
Legal Memo
Steven G. Bradbury
John A. Rizzo
Steven G. Bradbury, John A. Rizzo, James B. Comey, Jay S. Bybee, Daniel B. Levin
EIT, SERE, Use of water, Waterboarding, Water dousing, Physical assault, Face slap or insult slap, Stomach/abdominal slap, Attention grasp, Facial hold, Walling, Stress positions, Cramped confinement, Sleep deprivation, Dietary manipulation, Environmental manipulation, Light or sound, Hooding/Goggling, Nudity, Other