Interogation

Andrew Sullivan has talked eloquently about this issue, but he's missed the important point: there's a better way. I have experienced that better way. Through a strange bit of coincidences, I faced an international drug trafficking charge. It was no joke (25 years in jail), but I was completely innocent. So how do I prove that? I don't know, all I know is that I'm facing a crack team of interrogators, and they're looking looking to bust me. But it's okay, I'm not in America, I have rights, and I'm innocent.

My crime? They think I'm involved in international methamphetemine smuggling. And I'm in the Auckland airport as an American citizen. And they have detected methamphetemine on my luggage, but no significant quantities of it. I have no rights (not a citizen) and have been accused of a very serious crime. Needless to say, I'm nervous. But I have one positive thought: the people of New Zealand would never allow a person to be mistreated. And they would offer me rights in a court of law. But that only helped me because I was innocent. If I weren't, I still be in jail in New Zealand. (As an aside, can Firefox update its spellpeck to include New Zealand?)

So I was interrogated for three hours by two New Zealand customs officials, two New Zealand drug agents, and one Australian official of unknown agency. At any given time, there were three interrogators, but they rotated. I told the story of my flying from Bangkok to Auckland through Bali and Brisbane at least five times. And I made it clear that I hadn't touched my bags since going through security in Bangkok. But in no instance did they ever allow me to tell that story in chronological order. Someone would always break in on my story about the Bangkok airport with what happened in Brisbane. "And how did your bags get from from Bangkok to Brisbane?" And I reply: "Umm, I don't know how Garuda Indonesia sends my bags, and I probably don't want to know." It was a constant stream of different questions from different people from different countries. There was simply no way I'd could ever create a coherent lie under that situation. The truth was really the only path. I could occasionally make a joke because my interrogators were actually quite nice. But they weren't easy. Fortunately, the truth saved me.

So what's the truth? There really was, and probably still is, a Brisbane to Auckland methamphetimine route that used excess baggage space as the means of transport. It was done through the baggage handlers. My backpack was very underloaded and could easily handle another 50 kilos. So they used my baggage space to transport their goods. And I ended up facing a very serious situation because of it. But the truth is simple: I was innocent and they figured that out. If they had tortured me, I'd have admitted to anything. And I'd still be in jail. And they would be no closer to catching those that committed the crime. In fact, they'd be farther away. And the truth is this: I didn't really like being held and interrogated under those circumstaces, but I have great respect for those that interrogated me. They did what they had to do (and I was scared), but they did get the right information.