Parrilla (torture)

The parrilla is a method of torture where the victim is strapped to a metal frame and subjected to electric shock.

The Spanish word parrilla [paˈriʎa] means a cooking grill or barbecue of the type commonly found in South American countries, mainly in the Southern Cone. By analogy, the metal frame used in the torture was given the same name because of its appearance and because the victim was placed on top of it like the meat on a barbecue. The parrilla is both the metal frame and the method of torture that uses it.

The parrilla was used in a number of countries in South America, including Argentina during the dirty war in the 1970s and 1980s and Brazil. In Chile during the Pinochet regime (1973 to 1990) it became notorious as a routine tool of interrogation.

The victim was stripped naked, then laid on his or her back on a metal frame, often a bed-frame. Straps were used to restrain the victim in a position convenient for torture, with legs spread and arms either above the head or away from the sides of the body. The straps were tightened to prevent movement. Methods of preparation included heavy stimulation of the genitals, often with vibrators and ointments that increase sensitivity, such as peppermint oil or various types of pepper.

Electricity was drawn from a standard wall socket and fed through a control box to the victim by two wires terminating in electrodes. The control on the box allowed the torturers to adjust the voltage and thus the severity of the electric shocks.

A variety of methods were used to administer the shocks. A common method, chosen to maximize pain and distress, was to use electrodes fixed to particularly sensitive parts of the victim's body for the duration of the torture session. In another method, a wire is fixed to the victim and a wire with a bare end or an electrode with a wooden insulating handle is moved around to touch different sensitive parts of the body in turn, so as to cause a current to flow through the body between the two electrodes. For a male, the fixed wire was wrapped around his penis head or was replaced by a conducting wire mesh bag that fit snugly over the penis and testicles. They would also insert a thin metal rod into his urethra. For a female, it was attached to an electrode – either a short metal rod or, for better electrical contact, a moistened steel wool pan scrub - and this electrode was inserted into her vagina. Other methods include metal clamps attached to the nipples, labia and clitoris of the women. The clamps would be plugged into an electrical unit and the voltage increased over time. The torturer then touches the second electrode to different places on the body, such as the feet, legs, torso, neck, mouth, nipples, penis head, breasts and clitoris. This caused excruciating pain, at both the place where the second electrode touched the body and in the penis or vagina of the victim. Damage was often caused where the movable electrode was applied close to the point where the fixed electrode had been placed. It also caused intense pain and violent muscle contractions. Typically the person being tortured was kept blindfolded to add to the sense of helplessness as it was impossible to predict where and when the moving electrode would next be touched to the body. This type of torture would continue for long periods of time, often over days and weeks.

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