Inês Etienne Romeu (December 18, 1942 – April 27, 2015) was a Brazilian

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

held in

extrajudicial detention Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism ...

in a Brazilian torture camp in the early 1970s. Romeu has been described as the sole captive to survive the camp. In 2014, Colonel

Paulo Malhães Paulo Malhães was a Brazilian Army officer who died during a home invasion and robbery. Shortly before his death Malhães had acknowledged he had tortured and killed dissidents during the Military dictatorship (Brazil), Brazilian military dictato ...

testimony to the

National Truth Commission In Brazil, the National Truth Commission () investigated human rights violations of the period of 1946–1988 – in particular by the authoritarian military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from April 1, 1964 to March 15, 1985. The commission ...

revealed that Colonel of the Army Cyro Guedes Etchegoyen was the person in charge of the House of Death. He was head of the Army Information Center (CIE) from 1971 to 1974. He was also in charge of a group Brazilian military sent to train

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

's military personnel. Colonel Etchegoyen was trained at US Army School of the Americas.

, would later claim that the purpose of the center was to convince suspected political opponents to serve as double agents against regime opponents. The main technique used to turn suspects into double agents was torture, which would be backed up by blackmail and clandestine payments.

Captive years

Romeu was the only captive held in the center who their torturers trusted to serve as a double agent. However, once she was put in the field, her handlers decided she was insincere, and she was re-apprehended and given a life sentence. She ended up being imprisoned for a further eight years, being released in 1979.

Later life

Romeu published a memoir, describing her detention. She described not only torture, but rape and sexual humiliation. She described making three suicide attempts during the 96 days she was held in the torture center. Her handlers video-taped her counting out her clandestine payment, while repeating her mission. She was warned the video would be released to her colleagues, if her handlers were dissatisfied with her efforts. She was warned that if she defected security officials would apprehend her sister in her stead. In 2003 a man who represented himself as a carpenter entered Romeu's home and attacked her, leaving her with traumatic brain injuries. Nevertheless, she continued to be honored. In 2009, President

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...

awarded Romeu with an award for "Right to Memory and Truth".

Death

Romeu died in

Niterói Niterói () is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay, facing the city of Rio de ...

, Brazil, in April, 2015, at the age of 72.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romeu, Ines Etienne 1942 births 2015 deaths Brazilian torture victims Prisoners and detainees of Brazil People from Pouso Alegre