Verification can be as simple as decrypting a drive, identifying collaborators, revealing new crimes, new investigatory pathways (bank accounts, travel movement

Verification can be as simple as decrypting a drive, identifying collaborators, revealing new crimes, new investigatory pathways (bank accounts, travel movements, etc.. These can be impractical or impossible to discover without additional information. Befriending captives is no doubt a better first line interrogation tactic for all the reasons you state. Torture can still be effective yet not worthwhile due to negative externalities. I’m not a proponent of using it, I just think the argument against should acknowledge why it’s still being used around the world.