Chile's Pinochet regime used Julio Iglesias and George Harrison songs as 'torture soundtrack,' researchers claim

Prisoners held by the regime of former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet were played a “torture soundtrack” of songs by Julio Iglesias and George Harrison, according to new research.

Music played at high volume during torture was part of the psychological suffering endured by some of his thousands of political opponents who were detained when Pinochet seized power in 1973.

According to former prisoners, Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord”, the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick’s film A Clockwork Orange and songs by Spanish crooner Iglesias were played for days at a time.

University of Manchester researcher Dr Katia Chornik has investigated the use of music in Pinochet’s notorious torture houses, concentration camps and prisons. One former prisoner told how her jailers would sing the Italian pop hit “Gigi l’Amoroso” as they were taking her to the interrogation room, and carry on singing whilst they were torturing her.

PA