The case for the effectiveness of non-coercive interrogation was made long before the examples given in Ian Leslie’s excellent essay on the subject (We have ways of making you talk, 14 October).
In his late 18th-century short story The Criminal Driven by Lost Honour (Der Verbrecher aus verlorener Ehre), Friedrich Schiller tells of a petty criminal who goes on to become public enemy number one. When he is apprehended, the judge interrogating him initially opts for a decidedly aggressive and domineering tone. The criminal, when asked by the judge, “Who are you?”, replies: “A man who is determined to answer no question until it is put more courteously.” Realising that his rather brutal interrogation method is getting him nowhere, the judge eventually decides that perhaps it would be better to treat the suspect “with civility and moderation” and apologises for his harsh manner. The suspect then informs the judge that his previous behaviour would never have extracted anything from him, whereas the change of tone has given him confidence in and respect for his interrogator. He therefore reveals who he is.
It looks as though a work of narrative fiction, and a great writer who had keen insight into the criminal mind, got there first.
David Head
Peterborough
• One thing that struck me in your long read on interrogation techniques was that the interviewees are “interested to tell the ‘why’”. Understanding the motivation of terror suspects would seem to be extremely valuable, yet we don’t learn from it. Maybe their motivations should be made public, so that instead of professing bafflement at how someone could be radicalised, we can address the issues. I suspect that us invading and bombing other countries has a lot to do with it, but is this correct? Perhaps this uncomfortable aspect is why the motivations of people who commit atrocities are not being released and more widely discussed.
Rob Basto
Reigate, Surrey
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