5) Prohibiting Suspects from Taking Notes during Interrogation by Prosecutor’s Office is
Human Rights Violation
A complainant filed a complaint against XX District Prosecutor’s Office alleging that
the Prosecutor’s Office wrongfully denied his request to take a written note of his
statements so that he could prepare additional statements when necessary. The Prosecutor’s
Office responded to the complaint saying that the policy to prohibit suspects from
recording statements was justified for maintaining the confidentiality of investigations. It
went on to claim that allowing suspects to take notes during interrogation could hamper
investigation and the information could be used to aid and abet accomplices to flee or
destroy evidences.
The Commission rejected the Prosecutor’s Office’s claim by saying that the action of
taking notes is a reasonable exercise of general freedom of action and should be considered
as exercising the right to freedom, the basic right that can only be restricted by explicit
legal precedence in a broad sense. Accordingly, the Prosecutor’s Office’s has no legal
ground to prohibit suspects from taking notes and memos during interrogation.
Furthermore allowing suspects to take notes could actually alleviate the issues of the
current practice of drafting suspect statements conflicting with the right to trial,
examination by the court, and hearsay rule as well as giving them greater power to defend
charges. In conclusion, the Commission recommended the Prosecutor General to allow
suspects to take notes during interrogation.
6) Police Interrogating Minors without Parental Consent
A complainant filed a complaint against an officer of XX Police Station for violating
the minor’s right to defense when they failed to notify the complainant, a parent, before
interrogating a minor (‘victim’) for a motorcycle theft.
The officer claimed that he obtained a cell phone number of the mother of the victim
and tried in vain to reach her from the day of the arrest on June 13, 2011 to 9am on June
19, 2011 as he conducted his responsibility of interrogating the suspect. However, it was
Chapter 3. Investigations and Remedies: Civil Rights Violations
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