Torture Archive Launched; Related Film Wins Award

The National Security Archive, with support from the Open Society Institute, published the Torture Archive, an indexed online compilation of 83,000 (and counting) pages of primary source documents related to the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects by the U.S.  The launch comes on the heels of the Obama Administration's release on August 24, 2009, of an explosive 2004 CIA Inspector General report that reveals abusive CIA detention and interrogation activities.

The archive includes documents obtained through requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and habeas litigation, leaks from whistleblowers, press releases from government agencies, investigative reporting, and congressional investigations.  While many of the documents are available elsewhere, the National Security Archive has organized and cataloged them in a digital format and published them in a comprehensive searchable database.  The Torture Archive will continue to add relevant documents as they become available.

The disturbing revelations of U.S.-sponsored torture in the archive documents prompted award-winning documentary film director Sherry Jones to create a full-length feature film, Torturing Democracy, with support from the National Security Archive and the Washington Media Associates.  The film premiered in October 2008, along with a companion website, www.TorturingDemocracy.org.  

The film drew national press coverage, aired on Public Broadcasting Station outlets nationwide, and in May 2009 won the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Journalism Award for its "meticulous reporting" and for providing "the definitive broadcast account of a deeply troubling chapter in recent American history."

The Torture Archive was created with the support of the Open Society Institute's U.S. Programs.  Distribution efforts for Torturing Democracy were supported by the Open Society Institution's National Security and Human Rights Campaign.