A research coordinated by the Catholic Church with documents produced by the military identified more than one hundred tortures used in the “years of lead” (1964-1985). This trunk of cruelty, which included electric shocks, drowning and a lot of beatings, was opened for good in 1968, the beginning of the harshest period of the military regime. From that time on, torture began to be widely used, especially to obtain information from people involved in the armed struggle. Relying on the “technical assistance” of the American military who taught them how to torture, police and military groups began to attack at the moment of arrest, invading homes or workplaces. It was worse in police stations and barracks, where interrogation rooms were often lined with insulating material to prevent the screams of prisoners from being heard. “Reports indicate that the torture was long-lasting. They lasted for hours, were practiced by several people and were repeated for days”, says judge Kenarik Boujikain Felippe, from the Association Judges for Democracy, in São Paulo. The stick ate freely until 1974, when President Ernesto Geisel took measures to reduce torture, removing several soldiers from the “hard line” of the Army. During military rule, more than 280 people were killed – many under torture. More than 100 have disappeared, according to officially recognized numbers. But no one accused of torturing political prisoners during the military dictatorship was ever punished. In 1979, Congress passed the Amnesty Law, which determined that all those involved in political crimes – including torturers – would be pardoned by Justice.
READ TOO:
– What were the most used medieval methods of torture?
– What are the worst psychological tortures?
– What are the worst tortures with boxes and cages?
– How was a torture session in the Dragon Chair?
architecture of pain Torturers abused shocks, beatings and drugs to get informationdragon chair
In this kind of electric chair, prisoners sat naked on a zinc-coated chair connected to electrical terminals. When the device was connected to electricity, the zinc transmitted shocks to the entire body. Torturers often stuck a metal bucket into the victim’s head, where shocks were also applied.
macaw stick
It is one of the oldest forms of torture used in Brazil – it already existed in the times of slavery. With an iron bar crossed between the wrists and knees, the prisoner was naked, tied and hung about 20 centimeters from the ground. In this position, which causes excruciating pain in the body, the prisoner suffered from shocks, blows and burns with cigarettes.
electric shocks
The machines used in this torture were called “pimentinha” or “maricota”. They generated shocks that increased when the handle was turned rapidly by the torturer. The electrical discharge caused burns and convulsions – often, its effect made the prisoner violently bite his own tongue.
beatings
Various types of physical aggression were combined with other forms of torture. One of the cruelest was the popular “telephone”. With both cupped hands, the torturer slapped the prisoner’s two ears at the same time. The technique was so brutal that it could rupture the accused’s eardrums and cause permanent deafness.
truth serum
The serum is sodium pentothal, an injectable drug that makes the victim drowsy and reduces inhibitory barriers. Under its effect, the person could say things that they would not normally say – hence the name «truth serum» and its use in seeking information from prisoners. But its effect is unreliable and the drug can even kill
drownings
The torturers closed the prisoner’s nostrils and placed a hose or a rubber tube inside the accused’s mouth to force him to swallow water. Another method was to dip the tortured person’s head into a bucket, tank or drum filled with water, forcing the back of the head down to the point of drowning.
Refrigerator
The prisoners were naked in a low and small cell, which prevented them from standing up. Afterwards, the torturers alternated between a super-cold cooling system and a heating system that produced unbearable heat, while loudspeakers emitted irritating sounds. Prisoners were kept in the “fridge” for several days without water or food.