Boris O. Dittrich (b. 1955) worked as a lawyer in Amsterdam and as a judge in Alkmaar and was for many years a member of parliament and chair of the political party D66. Since 2007 he has worked for Human Rights Watch, first in New York and since 2013 in Berlin. Het is the author of the thrillers Murder and Fire and Lying the Truth, which were given an enthusiastic reception.