As a young lawyer, Philippe Sands was approached to advise a man facing arrest for his crimes: Chilean dictator Augustus Pinochet. But instead of acquiescing to the request, Sands chose to act as a barrister for a human rights organisation, leading to an investigation that uncovered the chilling truth about Pinochet, a former SS officer, and an unassuming house at 38 Londres Street in Santiago, Chile, where people were taken to be disappeared.
Sands talks to writer and journalist Juan Gabriel Vásquez about his book 38 Londres Street, a unique blend of memoir, detective story and courtroom drama, and about his extraordinary career. Sands is Professor of Public Understanding of Law at UCL, visiting professor at Harvard Law School and a practising barrister. He has been involved in many significant international cases, including Pinochet, Yugoslavia, Guantanamo and the Rohingya. His book East West Street won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction.
