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	Profile Ethos Occupation Your rights Direction Contact Procuration
	Your rights as the accused As an accused you are in no way liable to give a statement. Never ever! If you are accused of committing a crime, the police often tell you that it is better for you to give a statement. This is dangerous for you. Keep silent! Silence is the strongest weapon you have. We are all used to excusing and exculpating ourselves, arguing and trying to explain situations. From the moment of being accused, you should never give testimony without having spoken with a defence lawyer. It is your right to do so. Keep silent, even if it is almost unbearable. Silence is the strongest weapon you have in this uneven fight. Keeping silent brings no disadvantages for you. As an accused you are in an extreme situation. You are nervous and very emotional. Don’t believe you can prove your innocence in circumstances like these. Keeping silent keeps you superior towards professional interrogators. You are always interrogated by people (policemen) who have learnt their job. Due to their daily routine they outmatch you. Silence is reversible, talking is not. If you talk as an accused without having taken the professional counsel of a defence lawyer, you can do everything wrong and you can be nailed down on your testimony. By saying nothing, at least you can’t make mistakes. What was spoken (thoughtlessly) is recorded for ever in the transcript. Talk first with your defence lawyer, then with the police. If you want to give testimony, it is advisable to consult your lawyer first. A testimony should only be made in accord with him. There is no deviation from this principle! You always have the right to contact a lawyer. On any account you have the right to phone a lawyer of your choice. If you do not have one, don’t let the police tell you that there is no lawyer in reach (for example at night or at weekends). Federation wide, in almost every region, there exist emergency service departments for contacting a lawyer, which can be found in the telephone registry. Be sure to choose a lawyer accustomed to criminal law, or even better- contact a Specialist Solicitor for Criminal Law.