American Civil Liberties Union : Records Released in Response to Torture FOIA Request

There has never been a more urgent need to preserve fundamental privacy protections and our system of checks and balances than the need we face today, as illegal government spying, provisions of the Patriot Act and government-sponsored torture programs transcend the bounds of law and our most treasured values in the name of national security.

Records Released in Response to Torture FOIA Request (8/23/2004)

Record	Date of Record	Date Released	Record Description
State Department communication regarding meeting between Ambassador Prosper and ICRC President	April 2004	Sept. 24, 2004	Cover sheet only.
State Department communication regarding Secretary of State's May 6, 2004 conversation with ICRC President	May 2004	Sept. 24, 2004	Cover sheet only.
Letter from William H. Taft IV, Legal Advisor to Secretary of State, to ICRC President	Mar. 16, 2004	Sept. 24, 2004	Takes issue with March 1 op-ed in The Financial Times that criticized U.S. views regarding the law of armed conflict and terrorism. Denies that Geneva Convention requires U.S. to afford detainees "an individualized procedure to challenge the basis of their detention."
Letter from William H. Taft IV, Legal Advisor to Secretary of State, to ICRC	May 11, 2004	Sept. 24, 2004	Discusses Feb. 2004 transfer for prosecution of seven nationals of the Russion Federation from Guantanamo. States that U.S. does not transfer detainees if it is "more likely than not" that they will be tortured. In determining whether it is "more likely than not" that a detainee will be tortured upon return, the U.S. "takes into account the treatment the individual is likely to receive upon transfer, including inter alia the expressed commitments of officials from the receiving country."
Telegram from Secretary of State to American Consul in Jerusalem	Jan. 27, 2004	Sept. 24, 2004	Summarizes Secretary of State's Jan. 15, 2004 meeting with ICRC President. Acknowledges that "significant numbers" of detainees held by U.S. that could safely be released. Heavily redacted.
State Department communication regarding meeting between Ambassador Prosper and ICRC President	April 22, 2004	Sept. 24, 2004	Almost entirely redacted.
Telegram from U.S. Mission in Geneva to Secretary of State re Iraq and ICRC	May 13, 2004	Sept. 24, 2004	Almost entirely redacted.
Letter from ICRC President to Ambassador Kevin Moley	June 8, 2004	Sept. 24, 2004	Discusses confidentiality issues surrounding possible disclosure of ICRC documents to Congress.
Briefing of High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson	Jan. 16, 2002	Sept. 21, 2004	Raises concerns about treatment of detainees at Guantanamo.
E-mail forwarding publicly available article re status of detainees in international armed conflict	Jan. 4, 2002	Sept. 21, 2004	The article, "Status of Detainees in International Armed Conflict," is publicly available on the website of the American Society of International Law.
FBI memo re: "Treatment of Prisoners and Detainees"	May 19, 2004	Aug. 24, 2004	States that, "In light of the widely publicized abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison," FBI interrogators must not use "inherently coercive" interrogation techniques such as physical abuse or threats of physical abuse.
Letter from Attorney General Ashcroft to President Bush re: "Status of Taliban Detainees"	Feb. 1, 2002	Aug. 24, 2004	Advises that high-level officials will enjoy the greatest protection from prosecution for war crimes if President Bush declares Afghanistan to be a failed state not party to the Third Geneva Convention.
Memorandum from Deputy Assistant Attorney General John C. Yoo to Alberto R. Gonzales, Counsel to the President, re: interrogation methods permissible under international law	Aug. 1, 2002	Aug. 24, 2004	Concludes that Convention Against Torture does not prohibit interrogation methods that are not prohibited by U.S. statutory law.
Memorandum from Assistant Attorney General Jay S. Bybee to Alberto R. Gonzales, Counsel to the President, re: "Status of Taliban Forces Under Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention"	Feb. 7, 2002	Aug. 24, 2004	Advises that Taliban militia are not entitled to protection under the Third Geneva Convention.
Memorandum from Assistant Attorney General Jay S. Bybee to Alberto R. Gonzales, Counsel to the President, and William J. Haynes II, General Counsel to the Defense Department, re: "Application of Treaties and Laws to al Qaeda and Taliban Detainees"	Jan. 22, 2002	Aug. 24, 2004	Advises that certain treaties forming the laws of armed conflict do not apply to al Qaeda and Taliban detainees.
Memorandum from Assistant Attorney General Jay S. Bybee to Alberto R. Gonzales, Counsel to the President, re: "Standards of Conduct for Interrogation under 18 U.S.C. 2340-2340A"	Aug. 1, 2002	Aug. 24, 2004	Advises that for an act to constitute torture under Section 2340, physical pain "must be equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily functions, or even death."
Memorandum from Assistant Attorney General Jay S. Bybee to William J. Haynes II, General Counsel to the Defense Department, re: "Potential Legal Constraints Applicable to Interrogations of Persons Captured by U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan"	Feb. 26, 2002	Aug. 24, 2004	Discusses applicability of Miranda v. Arizona to persons captured in Afghanistan who may later be tried by military tribunals or in Article III courts.

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