Linz Heppe '07, currently in graduate school in DC and studying Arabic, has an amazing blog post from a recent stay in Egypt. If this won't make you read more, nothing will:
I waited for my translator to arrive and we proceeded with our case. The accused changed his story over night, reneging his past statements and denying the incident altogether. It was finally time to make a decision; this is the part that stuns me. My translator and detective asked me what I wanted to do, if I wanted to proceed with the case, or if I would drop the case. I was astonished. This man broke the law, and everyone in the room is asking me if I want to continue with legal proceedings, or if I would chose to let the man free!
Then they proceeded in telling me that he had learned his lesson, that he had been tortured the previous night, and that the sentence would be a minimum of 10years in prison. I broke down crying. I am a compassionate person, I do not approve of torture, and I support the rule-of-law; this situation was one of the most difficult, and uncomfortable of my entire life. And then I had to make a decision.
Read more here.
