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TORMENTA

birthday and he had convinced the others they had permission to celebrate with him. The major didn’t believe his story, but he punished him as if he did.

Throughout the day, the police took it in shifts to beat Samir. Between turns, they let him rest, but then another group would come in and start. The first few times, Samir fought back, kicking and punching at anyone who came near him. I heard several cries from the police as he lashed out, all the time abusing and threatening them.

‘You bastards! I’ll call human rights.’
The police laughed and kicked him harder. ‘They’ve already come.’
Reinforcements arrived. Between them, they managed to pin him down properly and handcuff one of his hands to a water pipe that ran through the cell.
‘¡Hijos de putas! I’m going to write a letter to parliament telling them everything about the cars!’

With only one free hand, he was an easy target for the group of police. However, even with severe concussion, he didn’t give up. He still had the use of his legs and scored a few more kicks on them until the Devil Major returned with a plank of wood and smashed Samir’s teeth in. After that, the only screams came from Samir.

Samir was tough and had a lot of determination, but the major was tough and had a plank of wood. He was going to teach him a lesson. Over a period of hours, they wore him down. Eventually, they broke him. And then, once he was broken, they kept going. His howls spread out into the punishment complex, piercing through the walls of La Grulla into the main prison sections. I blocked my ears, but I still heard his cries of agony. I have never heard such wrenching, blood-curdling screams in all my life. Slowly, very slowly, they were killing him. It was unbearable.

‘Enough! Please. No more!’ We pleaded, but they kept hitting him, each time until Samir was unconscious. Then they would revive him by spraying a fire extinguisher in his face. Eventually, he stopped screaming and began sobbing.

‘You want to cry, then?’ screamed the major.
He threw a canister of tear gas into Samir’s room, closed the door and left. The canister was designed for use against street rioters. Indoors, the gas dispersed very slowly. When it reached my cell, I could hardly breathe. My lungs felt like they were on fire. I had to rinse