You can refuse to testify if you have the status of an accused, suspect, defendant in a criminal proceeding. A witness also has a similar right, but only when it comes to testifying against himself, his spouse, and close relatives.
As a general rule, any participant in criminal proceedings is obliged to testify to the competent authorities, and refusal to provide relevant information is the basis for prosecution. However, the current criminal procedure legislation provides for several exceptions, under which certain categories of persons may refuse to testify. Sometimes such a refusal is general, in other cases a person refuses to talk about strictly defined circumstances, which cannot entail the imposition of any punishment on him.
Possibility of complete refusal to testify
The only participant in the criminal proceedings can completely refuse to testify - the person in respect of whom the investigation or trial is being conducted. At different stages of the criminal case, this participant may be called a suspect, accused, defendant, but in all cases he has the appropriate right. The Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation specifically provides for a mandatory warning to such a person that the information voiced by him can be used to confirm significant circumstances in a criminal case. In this case, the subsequent rejection of such testimony will not entail their automatic cancellation.
Particular cases of refusal to testify
Other participants in criminal proceedings may also refuse to testify in certain circumstances. In particular, such a right is granted to a witness who has every right not to disclose any information capable of testifying against him personally, his spouse, and other close relatives. Close relatives also include parents, children, grandmothers, grandfathers, grandchildren, adopted children, adoptive parents, sisters, brothers. It should be borne in mind that the criminal procedural legislation completely prohibits the involvement of some persons to participate in a criminal case as witnesses. Such persons are clergymen, deputies of the State Duma, members of the Federation Council, lawyers and defenders who have the right not to disclose information obtained in the direct performance of their professional duties (for example, a priest may be bound by a secret confession). In addition, judges, jurors, who are not interrogated in relation to the information they have learned while participating in a particular case, have a similar right.
