The Torture Archive, an ongoing project of
the National Security Archive, is assembling at a single location documents from wide-ranging sources on United States government policy toward rendition, detainees, interrogation, and torture. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, and the George W. Bush administration's subsequent launching of its "Global War on Terror", the Afghanistan war, and the invasion of Iraq, rumors circulated of disappearances, abusive treatment of prisoners, "extraordinary renditions", and "black site" (secret) prisons. Human rights and civil liberties organizations, investigative journalists, and congressional committees, including, notably, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Constitutional Rights, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Senate Armed Services Committee, and the Associated Press; and reporters for The New Yorker, the Washington Post, Newsweek, Salon, and the New York Times began to investigate. In early 2004 leaked photographs revealed the degradation of prisoners and their captors at the U.S. prison facility at Abu Ghraib, Iraq, shocking both the American public and the international community. Subsequent Freedom of Information Act requests, lawsuits, and public pressure compelled the U.S. government to release thousands of records documenting abusive detainee policy. Many of these records are already available on various websites, but using them is difficult because of their diverse locations. The Archive project is consolidating the documents and cataloging them, while also providing full-text searching, in order to facilitate public access.


The Archive currently includes records disclosed through the American Civil Liberties Union's successful lawsuits against the Department of Defense and other federal agencies, and almost 20,000 pages of documents produced by the Combatant Status Review Board (CSRT) and the Administrative Review Board (ARB). The latter entities were created by the Defense Department in response to a Supreme Court ruling, and scathing internal and external criticism of detainee policy, to determine whether prisoners were, and continue to be, "enemy combatants" -- a term coined by the Bush administration for those judged to have committed or supported hostilities against the United States or its allies.

Information in the Archive can be searched by title; creator, such as the Defense or State Department or the Federal Bureau of Investigation; recipient, such as the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; individual, such as former secretary of state Colin Powell; organization, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross or the contractor CACI International; date; document type, such as memorandum, court-martial record, email, medical record, or sworn statement); and document, listed by date. As indicated, full-text searching is available. For the records obtained by the ACLU, document descriptions include notes prepared by its lawyers and staff, often summarizing content. The "individual" browse option can be used to retrieve documents on detainees whose cases are discussed in the ARB and CSRT records. Document descriptions for these records also display internment serial numbers (ISN), which were assigned to each prisoner by the Defense Department.

Preliminary work on the Archive was carried out in association with Washington Media Associates, which produced the documentary film Torturing Democracy in 2008. The website project would not have been possible without support from the Open Society Institute, the JEHT Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the staff of the Washington Research Libraries Consortium. The National Security Archive is deeply grateful for their assistance.

A B C D E F G H I J-K L M N O P Q R S T U V-W Y 0-9


Abu Ghraib Detainee Abuse, 2004-05-17


Abu Ghraib Interrogator Notes; Annex 207: Formica Report: Article 1..., 2004-02-01


Abu Ghraib Interrogator Notes; Annex 208: Formica Report: Article 1..., 2004-02-07


Abu Ghraib Medical Screening; Annex 170: Formica Report: Article 15..., 2004-11-08


Abu Ghraib Prison Case, 2004-09-23


Abu Ghruyab Bullet Report, 2004-07-12


Abu Ghurayb Prison (AGP) Matter, 2004-06-03


Abuse at Abu G [Ghraib], 2004-05-14


Abuse at Abu G[hraib], 2004-05-13


Abuse Complaint by Detainee #[Excised], 2002-02-14


Abuse Investigation, 2004-06-25


Abuse of Detainee], 2003-12-22


Abuse of Detainee during Medical Exam], 2002-02-11


Abuse of Detainees at Abu Ghraib], 2004-05-17


Abuse of Detainees at Abu Ghraib Detention Facility; Annex to Fay/J..., 2004-05-27


Abuse of Detainees Witnessed at Abu Ghraib Detention Facility; Anne..., 2004-05-11


Abuse of Prisoners at Abu Ghraib Detention Facility; Annex to Fay/J..., 2005-05-25


ACA GTMO [Guantánamo] EXSUM and Talking Points, 2004-06-08


ACA Operational Assistance Visit JTF-GTMO, 2004-05-27


Accident Claims Form 04-I5A-T040], 2003-07-16


Account of Personnel Behavior toward Detainees at Abu Ghraib Prison..., 2003-05-21


Account of Prisoner Abuse Incident at Abu Ghraib Detention Facility..., 2004-05-13


Account of Visits to Abu Ghraib Detention Facility; Annex to Fay/Jo..., 2004-05-29


Accounts of Prisoner Abuse at Abu Ghraib Detention Facility; Annex ..., 2004-05-1


Accounts of Prisoner Abuse at Abu Ghraib Detention Facility; Annex ..., 2004-06-04


ACIL--Pre-meeting for Presenters, 2004-05-17


ACIL--Pre-meeting for Presenters, 2004-05-17


ACIL--Pre-meeting for Presenters, 2004-05-18


Acknowledgement of Receipt for Administrative Reprimand, 2003-07-21


Acknowledgement of Receipt of Diplomatic Note regarding Treatment o..., 2003-12-03


ACLU, et al., v. Department of Defense, et al., 2005-04-06


ACLU, et al., v. Department of Defense, et al., No. 04 Civ. 4151 (AKH), 2005-08-09


ACLU, et al. v. Department of Defense, et al., No. 04-CV-4151 (S.D...., 2004-10-15


ACLU Litigation concerning Treatment of Detainees--Deadline, 2004-09-28


ACLU Litigation Matter concerning Treatment of Detainees--Deadline, 2004-09-28


Actions Taken for Attempted Murder Charges; Includes Memoranda, Age..., 2004-09-22


Action Taken for Aggravated Assault and Conspiracy Charges; Include..., 2005-03-05


Action Taken for Aggravated Assault and Other Charges; Includes Report of Investigation, Agent's Investigation Reports, Crime Scene Sketch,
Evidence/Property Custody Document, CID Form 66, Investigative Pla..., 2004-09-27


Action Taken for Assault Charges; Includes Document Withdrawal Reco..., 2004-01-21


Action Taken for Assault, Conspiracy, and Other Charges; Includes F..., 2004-03-31


Action Taken for Burglary, Assault, and Other Charges; Includes Rep..., 2004-01-04


Action Taken for Conspiracy, Murder, and Other Charges; Includes Re..., 2004-03-08


Action Taken for Failure to Obey Orders, Larceny, Assault, and Othe..., 2004-01-27


Action Taken for Larceny and Other Charges; Includes Detainee Recei..., 2004-02-26


Action Taken for Reckless Endangerment and Other Charges; Includes ..., 2003-06-10


Action Taken on Charges of Willful Dereliction of Duty, Cruelty and..., 2004-02-09


Action Taken on Cruelty, Assault, and Other Charges; Includes Final..., 2004-02-09


Action Taken on Obstruction of Justice Charges], 2004-08-23


Action Taken on Obstruction of Justice Charges], 2004-06-23


Action Taken on Obstruction of Justice, Theft, Assault, and Other C..., 2005-04-19


Action Taken on Robbery and Malingering Charges; Includes Final Rep..., 2004-09-17


Action Taken on Robbery and Obstructing Justice Charges], 2004-05-06


Action Taken on Robbery Charges], 2004-05-06


Activation of the Multi National Corps-Iraq, 2004-05-15


Activists Express Concern over Gitmo [Guantánamo] Transfer, 2003-03-07


Additional Initial Statements of Detainees at Abu Ghraib Detention ..., 2004-11-08


Add on 101st Airborne Division; Handwritten], (Date Unknown)


Add on 10th Mountain; Handwritten], (Date Unknown)


Address of Louise Arbour U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to..., 2004-08-27


Administrative Reprimand, 2003-07-21


Admin Law Control Sheet, 2003-09-06


Admin. Law Control Sheet, 2003-09-20


Advance Directives, 2005-04-01


Afghan Detainees, 2004-03-12


Afghan Human Rights Chief [Excised], 2004-05-19


Afghan Human Rights Chief [Excised], 2004-05-19


Afghanistan: Abuses by U.S. Forces, 2004-03-08


Afghanistan, 2004-11-09


After Action Report Joint Task Force Guantánamo Bay (JTF-GTMO) Trai..., 2003-01-15


ALCID Memorandum 012-04, Chapter 5, CID Regulation 195-1, Criminal ..., 2004-06-07


ALCID Memorandum 015-02, Chapter 4 (Administration of Investigation..., 2002-04-03


ALCITF Memorandum 004-02, Interrogation Procedures, 2002-12-16


Aligning Operations at Abu Ghraib Detention Facility with Guantánam..., 2004-05-19


Allegation of Detainee Abuse, 2004-08-31


Allegation of Detainee Abuse, 2004-06-07


Allegation of Mistreatment, 2003-11-14


Allegations of Abuse at Guantánamo Bay since January 2002 That Have..., 2004-07-07


Allegations of Abuse of Detained Iraqi Family; Annex 224: Formica R..., 2004-10-12


Allegations of Abuse of Detained Iraqi Family; Annex 225: Formica R..., 2004-10-12


Allegations of Abuse of Detained Iraqi Family; Annex 226: Formica R..., 2004-10-12


Allegations of Abuse of Detained Iraqi Family: Annex 228: Formica R..., 2004-10-13


Allegations of Detainee Abuse, 2004-08-02


Allegations of Detainee Abuse; Annex 117: Formica Report: Article 1..., 2004-06-24


Allegations of Detainee Abuse; Annex 222: Formica Report: Article 1..., 2004-10-12


Allegations of Detainee Abuse; Annex 227: Formica Report: Article 1..., 2004-10-12


Allegations of Detainee Abuse at Abu Ghraib Detention Facility], 2004-03-18


Allegations of Detainee Abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004-04-02



Allegations of Detainee Abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004-03-07



Allegations of Mistreatment of Detainees at Abu Ghraib], 2004-06-25


Allegations of "Mock Executions", 2003-06-23


Allegations of Torture regarding [Excised], 2004-12-11


Alleged Assault of Iraqi Prisoners of War], 2003-10-08


Alleged Detainee Abuse as Reported by Detainee 7400, 2004-06-04


Alleged Detainee Abuse by TF 62-6 Personnel, 2004-06-25


Alleged New Photos of Detainee Abuse (Iraq), 2004-05-19


All Posts Cable, 2004-02-19


Al Thayiar Fedayeen Cell Raid on 27 Apr. 04, 2004-04-27


Ambassador Engages Arab Military Officers, 2003-07-19


Ambassador Prosper Discusses Iraqi War Crimes, Guantánamo, 2003-09-11


Ambassador's Jan. 22 Discussion of Detainees with MFA State Secreta..., 2002-01-24


Amended Petition for Relief under the Detainee Treatment Act of 200..., 2008-02-21


American Bar Association, Section of Individual Rights and Responsi..., 2003-04-26


Amnesty International Member's Concern about Abu Ghraib Detainee Mo..., 2004-06-09


AMS-ASIL HR & IHL & [GTMO], 2004-07-16


Anal Fissure: Medline Plus Encyclopedia Entry; Annex 181: Formica R..., 2004-06-18


Anna Lindh on GTMO [Guantánamo] Detainee, 2002-10-31


Annex 183: Formica Report: Article 15-6 Investigation of CJSOTF-AP ..., 2004-11-08


Annex 187: Formica Report: Article 15-6 Investigation of CJSOTF-AP ..., 2004-11-08