As a suspect of a crime, you are exposed to an exceptional psychological situation. The pressure that the law enforcement authorities build up, especially during interrogations, overwhelms the accused and often leads to rash statements being made very early on in the investigation. Once these statements are in the files, it is almost impossible to be able to correct them afterwards.
Against this background, it is important for you as a suspect to know, on the one hand, how the interrogation situation works in practice and, on the other hand, how to behave during such interrogations.
1. Duty to instruct the police officers
The duty to instruct the police officers is of particular importance. As soon as the police officers have an initial suspicion of a criminal offense against you, you as the suspect must be cleared up by the officers. This duty of instruction results for the civil servants from §§ 163a Abs. 4, 136 Abs. 1 StPO.
Unfortunately, in everyday practice it happens far too often that instructions are incorrect or incomplete or, in the worst case, are completely omitted. It is therefore all the more important for you as the accused to know that such instruction must be given without exception before the first interrogation and what extent this instruction actually has to be.
a. What act, what criminal provision?
First of all, the officers must explain to you which specific act you are accused of and which criminal provisions could be considered with regard to this commission.
b. The right to remain silent
You must then be instructed that you have the right to remain silent. You do not have to comment on the allegations made against you. The fact that you do not have to incriminate yourself and do not have to participate in the investigation of your own crime is a fundamental pillar of German criminal proceedings as a result of the “Nemo Tenetur principle”.
c. Right to a defense attorney
You must also be informed that you have the right to consult a lawyer prior to this interrogation. If you wish to make use of this option, the officials must allow you to contact us at any time. If you do not know a lawyer, the officials must enable you to contact a lawyer. In particular, reference should be made to the existing emergency service numbers of the lawyers’ associations.
d. Right to apply for evidence
You must also be informed that you can request the collection and procurement of the exonerating evidence you have named.
e. Right to a Public Defender
In the case of particularly serious allegations, you must finally be instructed that a public defender is to be appointed to you under the conditions of Section 140 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
2. No information on the matter
As you now know, you are free to comment on the allegations made against you. You should therefore invariably exercise your right to remain silent and inform the officials that you will not answer any questions about the matter. Nowhere is the saying “silence is gold” more relevant than in criminal proceedings. You should therefore absolutely adhere to it!
3. No information about the unlocking code or PIN of the mobile phone
Often the officers will ask you to release your mobile phone and allow access to the mobile phone. Unfortunately, you are often not informed that you are not obliged to do so. Because as you already know, you are not obliged to participate in your own prosecution. The law enforcement authorities use the data on your mobile phone for precisely this purpose. The suspicion against you should be corroborated by the information on your mobile phone. You must therefore know that this information is passed on to the authorities on a purely voluntary basis. It goes without saying that you, as the accused, should therefore not give the unlocking code or your mobile phone PIN to the authorities.
4. Call your defense attorney immediately
In the event of an interrogation, you should immediately contact your defense counsel and clarify the matter to him. As an expert, he can accompany the further discussion with the officials and in this way ensure that your rights as a suspect are protected.
5. Personal details
The only obligation that you, as a suspect, have during an interrogation is to provide personal data. According to § 111 OWiG you are obliged to provide the following information to the officials:
First name, family name or maiden name
Place or day of birth
marital status
job
place of residence
nationality
Even if the instruction by the officials is incomplete or even omitted completely, you now know better. Make use of your right to remain silent vis-à-vis the officers without exception and contact the defense lawyer you trust immediately.
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