What you need to know about interrogation... (Part one)
lawyer Olenskaya Inessa Vitalievna, October 7, 2017 Phone: +375297543322
Minsk Regional Bar Association
What you need to know about interrogation...
Interrogation in the framework of a criminal trial is an investigative or judicial action consisting of obtaining testimony from a witness, victim, accused, or suspect about the circumstances of the case known to him.
Not a single criminal case is complete without interrogating the victim, witness or accused (suspect).
It is important to know how to behave correctly during interrogation, as this may later affect the outcome of the case.
Experienced investigators conduct interrogations using the method of psychological influence on the interrogated person.
Before answering questions, make sure that this is an interrogation that is documented in a protocol. Otherwise, you can safely refuse to answer questions, since this may turn out to be just a conversation in which the investigator will obtain the information he needs from you in a non-procedural manner.
This is especially true in cases when you are offered a petition to conclude a pre-trial cooperation agreement... You will tell everything you know, and the investigation will no longer need your help...
In addition, information obtained extra-procedurally is not evidence in a criminal case, but the investigator can use it to find facts confirming your guilt.
About the procedure for calling for questioning
According to Article 216 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Belarus, you must be summoned for questioning by a summons , which must indicate who is summoned and in what capacity, to whom and at what address, the time of appearance for questioning, as well as the consequences of failure to appear without good reason.
The summons is handed to the summoned person against receipt. In the absence of the summoned person, a subpoena is handed against signature to one of the adult members of his family or the administration at his place of work, who are obliged to hand over the summons to the summoned person for questioning. The interrogated person may be summoned using other means of communication (for example, a telephone message), and such a call must be formalized accordingly by the investigator.
The victim, witness, as well as the suspect and accused who are at large are required to appear when summoned for questioning. If they fail to appear without good reason, they may be brought in by reasoned decision of the inquiry body, investigator, prosecutor, public prosecutor, judge or by court ruling.
The person who received the summons must notify the authority that summoned him about the presence of reasons that prevent him from appearing when summoned on time (business trip, vacation, illness, etc.).
A person under sixteen years of age may be summoned for questioning as a victim or witness through his parents or other legal representatives.
You don’t have to come to the interrogation if you just found the summons in your mailbox. You do not bear any responsibility for this.
If you received the summons by registered mail, or from the hands of a police officer or employer, and you signed for its receipt, you will have to appear for questioning.
The subpoena itself must indicate in what capacity they want to interrogate you: a witness, a victim, a suspect or an accused. If the agenda does not contain such information, be sure to find it out. Your rights and responsibilities will depend on this.
You should know that being called in for questioning as a witness may mean not only that you are a witness to some events, but also that you could potentially become a suspect or accused.
Conducting an interrogation
As a rule, the interrogation is carried out in the investigator’s office, however, the investigator has the right, if he deems it necessary, to conduct the interrogation at the location of the interrogated person, incl. during investigative actions such as inspection, search or seizure.
At the beginning of the interrogation, the investigator must establish your identity and fill out personal information (last name, first name, patronymic, date of birth, place of residence, place of work, etc.).
The person summoned for interrogation is informed in what capacity, in what criminal case he will be interrogated, his rights and obligations are explained , including the right to refuse to give evidence in relation to himself, his family members and close relatives, about which mark in the protocol. A person summoned for questioning as a victim or witness is warned of criminal liability for refusal or evasion to testify and for giving knowingly false testimony.
If for some reason the investigator did not explain to you your rights and obligations, and you did not sign that you are familiar with them, the court may subsequently declare the interrogation record illegal (inadmissible evidence).
Having appeared for interrogation in any status (witness, victim, suspect, accused), you have the right at any time to have legal assistance from a lawyer , and the exercise of this right cannot be made dependent on the discretion of the body conducting the criminal process.
If you are interrogated as a suspect or accused, the investigator will ask you whether you know what you are suspected (accused) of, whether you plead guilty and whether you are willing to testify. In this situation, you can refuse to testify , since according to Article 27 of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, no one should be forced to give testimony and explanations against themselves, their family members, or close relatives. The circle of close relatives is determined by Art. 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Belarus: these are parents, children, adoptive parents, adopted children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, as well as spouse.
If the investigator forces you to testify, do not follow his lead: you decide not to answer questions - stick to this position.
If you decide to testify, it is important to remember the following.
The interrogation begins with an invitation to tell about the circumstances of the criminal case known to the person being interrogated. At the end of the free story, the interrogated may be asked questions aimed at clarifying and supplementing the testimony.
The investigator is basically free to choose interrogation tactics and can structure the interrogation as he sees fit, but acting within the framework of criminal procedural legislation, which establishes certain restrictions.
According to Part 4 of Art. 217 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Belarus, the investigator is prohibited from asking leading questions . Questions that contain an answer option or the answer itself should be considered leading. If such questions were present during the interrogation, then in court such interrogation can be considered illegal.
The investigator does not have the right to threaten the interrogated person, use violence, or create situations dangerous to life and health . If the investigator behaves aggressively, then try to remain calm. As a rule, the investigator just wants to scare you so that you will testify more easily. This may indicate that the investigator does not have evidence incriminating you.
The interrogation cannot last continuously for more than 4 hours. After this time, you have the right to request a break. Continuation of the interrogation is allowed after a break of at least one hour for rest and eating, and the total duration of the interrogation during the day should not exceed eight hours.
However, it is possible to terminate the interrogation earlier.
If there are medical indications, the duration of the interrogation is determined based on the doctor’s opinion.
Therefore, if you tell the investigator that you are not feeling well and cannot answer any more questions, he must call a doctor, and if there are medical indications, the interrogation will be postponed on their recommendation.
In accordance with the general requirement of the prohibition of investigative actions at night, interrogation from 22.00 to 6.00 hours is allowed to the investigator only in exceptional cases that cannot be delayed (Part 2 of Article 192 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Belarus).
The investigator must justify the impossibility of postponing the interrogation until the morning. Blog Olenskaya Inessa Vitalievna
Interrogation as usual
You need to clearly understand that there are not and cannot be friends, like-minded people or sympathizers in institutions where they may be invited for interrogation. The investigator and the accused have fundamentally different goals. The task of the first is to solve the crime and improve reporting indicators. The task of the second is to at least not worsen your situation and not harm yourself. Therefore, no matter how the investigator behaves, do not think that he wants to help you. Politeness and show of interest are only tools to get your interlocutor talking and get the missing information. If the investigator knew everything and had evidence, he would not communicate with you. You shouldn’t trust him, much less agree to cooperate. And the point is not that all investigators are bad people. On the contrary, maybe they are very good and kind. But their job is to extract information from people and put them in jail. You have different goals and objectives.
During the interrogation, the investigator will definitely use psychological influence techniques. Its task is to disarm a person, throw him out of mental balance, raise doubts about the correctness of the chosen position, in other words, drive you into a state that in psychology is designated by the term frustration. To do this, he will change the tone, pace and direction of the conversation. A technique that every professional investigator uses is to give a person an exaggerated impression of the evidence the police have. The goal is to make you believe that he knows everything. Don’t guess anything for the investigator. Let him first say what he knows, provide evidence, and then you can react. Don't make his life easier by complicating yours.
The investigator’s behavior is aimed at frustrating, undermining your defenses, and finding flaws in your chosen line of behavior.
During interrogation, investigators resort to standard techniques. Here's what you should be prepared for: at the beginning of the conversation, the investigator will try to establish psychological contact with the suspect, create an atmosphere of trust, and perhaps conduct conversations on neutral topics. Evidence is presented in order of increasing importance - the most convincing is saved for later, the factor of surprise is always used. Hostile statements (or provoking the suspect to make them) regarding participants in events who were not present at the interrogation cannot be ruled out. The investigator will likely create an exaggerated impression of police knowledge, make moral arguments, and emphasize the suspect's conscience.
The investigator’s behavior is aimed at upsetting, undermining your defenses, and finding flaws in your chosen line of behavior. His job is to get you to help him achieve his goals. If the investigator suddenly starts raising his voice or intimidating you, take this as a good sign. Most likely, this means that the prosecution has reached a dead end, and the investigator is screaming, nervous or angry from the realization of his own powerlessness. So, in the event of any aggression on the part of the investigator, mentally praise yourself, shut up and wait until he apologizes to you. If there is no apology, and the pressure and insults continue, feel free to ask for another investigator. It is better, of course, to do this through your lawyer, who will file a complaint with the head of the investigative unit or the prosecutor's office.
Responsibilities of the investigator
General responsibilities of an investigator include:
- Documentary recording of the interrogation procedure;
- Compliance with the procedural elements of the procedure. For example: Warning the interrogated person about liability for giving false testimony;
- Filling out the protocol;
- Collection of signatures of witnesses, etc.
- Sending a summons by courier or mail;
Depending on who acts as the person being interrogated, new duties may be added, for example, the duty to engage a psychologist to interrogate a person under 16 years of age, etc.
