what makes testimony interesting and compelling?

Witness #1 said, "The police arrested me, and took me to the prison, where they hit me."

Witness #2 said, "I was at home with my mother and children. I heard tires screech outside. I heard footsteps; some men were on our porch. I thought they were criminals. I thought they might hurt my children. But, it was the police. They barged in, shouting. I thought they might cause my elderly mother to have a heart attack. They grabbed me, put me into a smelly blue van, and drove to a prison. One guard, with a fat belly, who looked like a teacher I had in high school, held a big stick. I thought he might kill me. He had bad breath; he hit me suddenly, when I wasn't looking. He hit me on my head, my arms, and on both legs. I saw blood: on my hands, on my shirt, on my legs, and on the floor."
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Witness #2 is more interesting, yes? He mentions, sounds, emotions, thoughts, and smells.

activist from Cameroon #3

More questions:
-how did you find out that the police were coming to arrest you?
How did the police know that a meeting was in progress, at that time?
-when were the photos of your scars taken?
Why were the photos taken?
Who took photos of you at the demonstration?
why did your friend take photos of you? did you send the photos back to your country, to encourage your friends there?
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how did you get out of prison?
what happened on the day of your release?
How often were you hit in prison?
The guard hit you where? why do you say, "all over your body"? Why can't you say, for example, he hit me on the head, on the back, on my left arm, and on both legs?
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what did your mother say, when the police came?
Were you afraid the government would arrest you at the airport, before you flew to Paris?
What precautions did you take?
did your brother pay a bribe? how much? who did he pay it to?
Did you have to go through a metal-detection machine, or X-ray machine at the airport?
Did you feel nervous at the airport?
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what has happened to your group, since you left one year ago?
What are they doing?
does the governemnt care about them?
Why did you send a letter, via certified mail, to your Embassy?
Who sponsored the demonstration in Washington DC in front of the Embassy?
Why have you not joined a political party here in USA?
What was the purpose of the demonstration? what did you hope to accomplish?
On what day did you protest alone in front of your embassy? did anyone notice you?
why did you protest?
did you send protest photos back to Cameroon? why?
What did your friends in Cameroon tell you about the photos you sent them?
Does the government of Cameroon care about its international reputation?
What do you think would happen to you, if you fly back to Cameroon tomorrow?
Why would they arrest you?
Is there anything else? really? what?
OK, is there anything else?

activist from Cameroon #2

The Asylum Officer wanted to know:
-did you join any political parties in the USA? why not?
did you join a party in Cameroon?
What was the purpose of that group?
Does the group have more than one purpose?
was your government aware of your group? how do you know?
What did your government think about your group?
How do you know what your government thought?
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how often did yor group have meetings?
how often did you attend?
what happened during the meetings?
Did you sit on a chair and listen to what other people said?
did you do anything else at the meetings, beside sit and listen?
for example, did you say something?
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when were you arrested? you say in March 2010? what day in March? was it on a Sunday?
What were you doing at the moment of your arrest? sitting on a chair reading a book? standing on the sidewalk, holding a large sign?
Where did they take you?
what happened at the police station?
Can you repeat the words of the guard? what language did he speak, and what did he say?
What happened after they put you in the cell?
what furniture was in the cell?
how were you supposed to go to the bathroom? in a bucket? latrine?
What words did the guard say? what did you say?
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what damage was done to you?
did you see blood? where did you see blood?
Today, how do you feel? do you have any problems today, resulting from the beating?
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how did you join your group? pay some money? fill out an application?
What are the rules for joining? can anyone join?
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right before your arrest, what thoughts went through your mind?
When you saw the man, what did you think, at first? that he was an ordinary criminal?
Why did the officer arrest you?
why did he slap you?
How did the police find out, about your activities?
Did an informer, spy, or infiltrator tell the police?

a pro-democracy activist from Cameroon

The Asylum Officer asked:
1] show me your passport! when was it issued, when does it expire, what does each stamp mean?
2] is your interpreter going to translate everything, or just the things he thinks are important?
3] if you say six sentences, can the interpreter translate everything you said? what if you said just two sentences, and then stopped? would that be better?
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I will ask questions in a random manner; I will not go in a chronological way. If I do that, can you still tell your story?
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where do you live, here in the USA? who do you live with? Ms. Lucy? how did you find Ms. Lucy? who introduced you to her?
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when you lived in Yaounde, who else lived in the house?
-have you ever harmed anyone?
-Why did the soldier beat you?
what weapon did he use, and where did he hit you?
What damage was caused, by the hitting?
Are you a member of a tribe? is Mr. Paul Biya a member of a tribe? is that important?
Who works at the Cameroon Embassy in Washington DC? just members of the Beti tribe?
Do any members of the Bamileke tribe work inside the Embassy?
how do you know?
Who demonstrated on the sidewalk outside of the Embassy?
What percent of them were Bamileke?
were there any spies, informers, or infiltrators standing with you?