Parrilla urethra: A sequalae of electric shock torture to genitals in men. A 40 case series in Kashmir (India)

Abstract


 
 
 
 Introduction: Since the 20th century, electric shock torture has become one of the most prevalent methods of torture partly because it produces sequelae that are more challenging to visibly detect, particularly when administered using high voltage and low current. In sexual torture, a wire is wrapped around the head of the penis and a wire electrode is inserted into the urethra.This produces unbearable pain and can lead to urethral strictures with devastating physical and psychological consequences.
 Objective: To document electric shock torture to genitals as an etiologic agent in urethral stricture and erectile dysfunction amongst survivors of electric torture introduc- ing the term “parrilla urethra” for the electric shock torture urethral stricture.
 
 
 
 
 Materials and methods: The study included 40 patients who attended the Department of Urology, Directorate of Health services, Sri- nagar, Kashmir, India with obstructive lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) / obstructive uroflowmetry between March 2010 and No- vember 2014. All cases had an antecedent of electric shock torture to genitals six months to one year prior to examination. Pre-post psy- chological impact and well-being was used through Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores.
 Results: The mean age of patients was 35.6 years. Most of the urethral strictures were located in the anterior urethra. Some degree of erectile dysfunction was present in all (100%) of patients. Psychological sequelae including depression, anxiety, acute stress disorder and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder were observed. Patients were treated with stan- dard urethroplasty procedures after address- ing the urethral stricture.This improved both physical and psychological sequelae of torture.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Reported Methods, Distributions, and Frequencies of Torture Globally

“…A total of 9937 article titles and abstracts were screened, 1739 full-text articles were assessed, and 266 articles were included for analysis (eFigure 1 in Supplement 1). One article was published in 1947 and the rest in 1977 to 2021, with an average increase of 0.25 additional articles published per year from 1977 ...…”

“…Reports of torture could be identified for an average of 2.1 (95% CI, 1.6-2.6) countries per study, and the range was 0 to 39 countries. Only 1 country of torture could be identified for 143 studies (54%), 2 to 10 countries for 53 studies (20%), more than 10 countries for 11 studies (4%), and no single country of torture could be identified for 59 studies (22%) …”

“…Of the 35 245 pairs of articles, there was no overlap in the reported torture methods for 7281 pairs of articles (20.7%). Just 69 pairs (0.2%) reported identical collections of torture methods, which encompassed 44 articles 21, 24-26, 29, 37, 45, 47, 52, 77, 97, 100, 102, 105, 107, 112, 113, 128, 132, 152, 156-158, 164, 168, 178, 192, 201, 218, 222-224, 227, 237, 238, 240, 244, 246, 247, 255, 264, 267, 274, 276 in 15 clusters: 1 cluster of 9 articles (that reported only foot whipping), 26,29,107,156,[222][223][224]244,255 1 of 5 articles (that reported only beating or blunt-force trauma), 152,201,240,247,276 2 clusters of 4 articles, 25,37,45,47,100,112,128,238 and 11 clusters of 2 articles each. 24,52,77,97,102,105,113,132,157,158,164,168,178,192,218,227,237,246,264,267,274 Less well-defined clusters were also present, including a cluster...…”

“…Torture methods that were applied to only 1 gender had infinite odds ratios and are not included, ie, female genital mutilation or cutting was the only torture method that was reported only for women; gunshot, muscle crushing with roller (ghotna), deprivation of medical care, pharmacological torture, loud noises, and genital trauma were clearly reported only for men. Health 190,194,197,201,209,211,214,215,221,222,226,229,233,238,243,244,253,[255][256][257]259,262,264,267,272,273,277 as fair, and 140 (52.6%) 15, 17-22, 25, 26, 28, 31, 32, 35-39, 41, 42, 44-47, 50, 52, 53, 55-57, 62, 64, 66-68, 72, 77-80, 82, 84-87, 89, 91, 93, 94, 97, 100, 102-104, 107, 110, 119, 122, 125, 127, 129, 131, 134-141, 143, 145, 147, 148, 151, 153, 154, 156, 159, 161-165, 167, 169, 170, 177, 180-183, 187, 188, 191, 193, 195, 196, 200, 202-208, 212, 213, 216-220 as poor (eTable 11 in Supplement 1). Whereas clear study objectives, clear descriptions of the participants included in the study, clear discussion of findings A, A matrix displays the torture methods that were reported by each study: a yellow stripe indicates that the torture method was reported by the individual study.…”

Homicidal electrocution disguised as an accidental death

“…In such scenarios, the electric shock is usually applied to sensitive areas like nipples, anus, and genitals. In particular, the Parrilla urethra is a technique in which a wire is wrapped around the head of the penis, and a wire electrode is inserted into the urethra [16]. The consequences of using electric techniques as a method of torture can vary from electric burns to the death of the victim.…”