“Whistle-blowers” at the police station: a history of treason

Abstract

From May 28th, 1926, to April 25th, 1974, Portugal endured Europe’s lon­ger dictatorship. In those years, milliards of anti-fascist militants passed through the political prisons, where they were tortured to reveal informa­tion about their organisations, and so contribute to their dismantlement. Many of those prisoners were unable to resist torture and – to use the jargon – “talked under interrogation”. A confession would not only make easier to prove, in court, their membership in forbidden organisations, but allow the arrest of other activists. It would also determine the banishment from the organisation. The case of one of those militants, who, after being arrested by the political police, PIDE, yields under torture and, after confessing his activity and denouncing his comrades, becomes a traitor, is the starting point for an analysis of the interrogation methods, the use of torture, the psychological mechanisms that may have contributed to the prisoner’s re­version. The author searches to obtain answers to the question “for what reason does one resist or yield under torture?”