Change, But at What Cost?

Image courtesy Amsterdam City Archives.

I sat spellbound. The man across the table was relating how he had wrangled his way into a detention center where he suspected torture was being committed. He convinced the guard to leave the room, quickly photographed the horrific scarring on a detainee’s back, smuggled the film out and showed the photos to a judge.

“The judge roundly condemned the torture, which was illegal but seldom exposed,” my companion explained. “Detainees were denied...