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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 1 (May 1, 1933)

Is it Evidence?

Is it Evidence?

Some of the people who are indicting the Soviet system are not seeking to weigh the evidence. They say that there is no evidence. Admissions of guilt secured from persons held in captivity and subjected to pressure are, they hold, valueless. Before the trial began at Moscow, the British Foreign Secretary, Sir John Simon, speaking officially (and drawing on his legal experience and study of the systems of many countries) raised the question whether evidence obtained by pressure from imprisoned suspects had evidential value. And herein seems to reside the major point. Governments will leave their nationals to the justice of foreign courts so long as the process stands for justice. But how much longer? Always a national scandal, third degreeism now shows that it can be dangerous internationally, and possibly a cause of war.