A STORY OF A SUCCESSFUL INTERROGATION

Inspired by a poem by Ahmed Mattar.


In the south entrance of an small alley in an Arab capital, an ancient deserted two-storey building stands in the right corner. In the upper floor, in a cold and a wet room. A blindfolded-handcuffed man was brought in by six security officers in civilian-cloths. Two men in black suits were waiting for him. The door, then, was closed, and in the six security waited in the corridor. 


Inside the room, the two men in black stand on front of the blindfolded-handcuffed man, who was seated on the only chair there. One of them opened a file in his hand, and the interrogation began.



Man in Black 1: 

You thought that we weren't watching you? .. huh .. You think that we don't know a thing about your activities, stupid? .. Why do you think we are getting paid for, lunatic?

Man in Black 2: 

Listen, do you want us to unfold your eyes and remove the handcuffs? Tell us first who you are working for?

The blindfolded-handcuffed man: 

(-----------------------------)

Man in Black 1: 

OK .. you don't want to talk .. fine .. we will ... on March the 2nd last year, we know that you made a speech in a small restaurant in your neighborhood criticizing the regime. We know that you, falsely of course, accused His Excellency the leader of numerous corrupted actions. Do you remember?

The blindfolded-handcuffed man: 

(-----------------------------)

Man in Black 1: 

I will advise you to start speaking .. Silence will do you no good .. Do you acknowledge saying that His Excellency the leader is a corrupt, or do you not? Speak up?

The blindfolded-handcuffed man: 

(-----------------------------)

Man in Black 2: 

OK .. you don't want to speak about that .. We will move to a different incident, on July 23, 2007. We know that you prayed in a small mosque in your neighborhood, next to a dangerous extremist terrorist, who is in prison right now after he confessed of everything. At the end of the prayer, we know that he turned toward you and muttered something. The next day, on July 24, 2007, we know that you said in a phone interview with a foreign media that we, the National security agency, are torturing Islamists to extract confessions from them. So, as you see, we didn't even touch you .. So, tell us, what is your relationship with the terrorist organisations? .. What is your role within their cells? 

The blindfolded-handcuffed man: 

(-----------------------------)

Man in Black 2: 

Listen you dirty dog .. we know that you are trained to restrain yourself from speaking during an interrogation .. we are familiar of such techniques .. So .. it is either you open your filthy mouth, or, we will consider your silence as acknowledgment and a confession that you are co-ordinating with terrorist cells to execute several terrorist attacks on innocent civilians .. and we know that the ultimate aim of you and your fellow-conspirators is topple the regime .. It means, dirt-bag, that you will be executed .. so .. for the last time .. speak up?

The blindfolded-handcuffed man: 

(-----------------------------)

Man in Black 1: (shouting his lungs out at the six security officers waiting outside the room) 

Come and take that shit away .. His case is closed ... 

A week later, the press run in its front page, "the National Security Agency dismantled a terrorist network was planning to execute several terrorist attacks on civilian targets. The head of the network confessed last week, and had been executed by hanging last night". In the last page, in the lower-left bottom, a story of a woman wondering of the whereabouts of her deaf and mute husband.