|
|
LONDRES 38
|
(From Rettig report)
The DINA operated this torture and detention center in downtown Santiago from late 1973 to the end of September 1974. Londres 38 had been the municipal headquarters of the Socialist Party before being expropriated by the military government.
The physical mistreatment practiced here was characteristic of the DINA’s early days. Interrogations were immediate upon arrival and torture was applied without limits; abusive treatment was constant; there were large numbers of detainees and the DINA agents appeared to be hurried and careless of possible excesses or errors. At this time, the security forces had not yet gathered a satisfactory amount of information on the clandestine political activities they wanted to suppress. Repression would later become more sophisticated and the DINA would have more resources to carry it out.
Up to 70 prisoners would be held blindfolded in the living room of the center, an old house. From that room, detainees were taken to other dependencies for interrogation and torture or to assist in detentions.
The most common form of torture in Londres 38 was electrical shocks or the "grill." Another method which was most typical of this center was the use of close family members to pressure prisoners. Loved ones would be arrested, tortured or raped in front of the prisoner. This method was used in the disorderly early days of the DINA, when not only the suspect was arrested but often his family members and others associated with him.
This same disorganization also permitted prisoners to have more contact with one another and allowed for information to circulate among them.
|
|