Electric shock torture using army magnets left no physical traces, aiding its concealment

Evidence

The most favoured method of torture was the gégène, an army signals magneto from which electrodes could be fastened to various parts of the human body—notably the penis. It was simple and left no traces. Massu states that he, as well as other members of his staff, tried it out on himself in his own office; what he failed, however, to note in his “experiment” was the cumulative effect of prolonged application of the gégène, as well as of all deprivation of the element of hope—the essential concomitant of any torture. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 593

Categorization

• XREF: Links to the broader literature on torture’s corrupting effects; connects to Bassiouni’s work on systematized torture practices.