A/HRC/45/CRP.11
• Stress positions called the “crucifixion” (arms spread out and handcuffed to pipes or
grilles) and “the octopus”/“el pulpo” (a metal belt with chains attached to immobilize
the wrist and ankles)
• Asphyxiation with plastic bags, chemical substances or a bucket of water
• Beatings, sometimes with a stick or other blunt object
• Electric shocks to the genitals or other parts of the body
• Death threats or threats of additional violence
• Threats of rape against the victim and/or their relatives
• Psychological torture including sensorial deprivation, constant lighting and extreme
cold
• Forced nudity including in rooms kept at extremely low temperatures
286. In seven cases, SEBIN agents perpetrated acts of sexual or gender-based violence
against detainees in an attempt to elicit confessions or information implicating others, or to
degrade, humiliate or punish them.725 During interrogation, SEBIN officers threatened to rape
both male and female detainees using body parts and objects. They also threatened sexual or
other violence against detainees’ female family members. In the Brave Heart Foundation
detentions, detailed below, officers threatened to rape a detainee’s girlfriend to coerce
information from him.726
287. Many former SEBIN detainees told the Mission they had witnessed other detainees
being tortured in SEBIN facilities, including those held for non-political reasons. In some
cases, the witnesses described seeing acts of torture at close quarters or sharing cells with
visibly injured detainees. Witnesses located in some cells in El Helicoide, particularly the
women’s cell from 2014 to 2018, consistently described overhearing frequent torture of both
men and women during interrogations. The cells on that hallway were located directly
beneath the offices of high-ranking officers. Due to particularities in the building’s
construction, the sound could be heard distinctly.
288. Acts overheard included beatings, asphyxiations, electric shocks and acts of sexual
violence including the rape of at least one female non-political detainee in December 2015.727
Multiple witnesses also described incidents when SEBIN guards in El Helicoide were
noticeably under the influence of alcohol and/or other intoxicants. 728 While under the
influence of these substances, lower-ranking male and female guards sometimes pointed their
weapons into the cells of inmates and threatened to kill or rape them.729 SEBIN officers
threatened to put both male and female detainees in situations “where they could be raped”
by other prisoners, either in El Helicoide or in the general population of other prisons. 730 The
Mission documented instances where these threats or insults were specifically directed
against known members of the LGBTQI community.731
289. At least two people died while in SEBIN custody: Mr. Fernando Albán and Mr.
Rodolfo González, a retired pilot accused of plotting against the Government. 732 High-level
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
Including the cases of Case 1: Leopoldo López, Lorent Saleh, Gabriel Valles, Rodolfo Pedro
González, C2EE01 (female), Case 6: Victor Navarro, Case 12: Pedro Jaimes Criollo.
Mission Interview C2EE08 in May 2020.
Mission Interview C2EE15 in July 2020; Mission Interview C2EE10 in June 2020; Mission Interview
C2EE03 in May 2020; Mission Interview C2EE04 in May 2020; Mission Interview C2EE09 in June
2020; Mission Interview C2EE12 in June 2020; Mission Interview C2EE16 in July 2020.
Mission Interview C2EE10 in June 2020; Mission Interview C2EE15 in July 2020; Mission Interview
C2EE04 in May 2020; Mission Interview C2EE08 in May 2020; Mission Interview C2EE05 in May
2020.
Mission Interview C2EE08 in May 2020.
Mission Interview C2EE16 in July 2020; Mission Interview C2EE12 in June 2020.
Mission Interview C2EE16 in July 2020.
Mission Interview C2DD16 in July 2020, Mission Interview C2EE16 in July 2020, Mission Interview
C2DD16 in July 2020.
79
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