The Criminal Procedure Act includes in its provision 520 the rights that assist the person who has been arrested, such rights must be respected by the police authority that has proceeded to the arrest.
“520. 2. Any person detained or imprisoned will be informed in writing, in a simple and accessible language, in a language that he understands and immediately, of the facts attributed to him and the reasons for his deprivation of liberty, as well as the rights that assist him and especially the following:
- a) Right to remain silent by not declaring if you do not want to, not to answer any or some of the questions asked, or to state that you will only testify before the judge.
- b) Right not to testify against yourself and not to confess guilty.
- c) Right to appoint a lawyer, without prejudice to the provisions of section 1.a) of article 527 and to be assisted by him without undue delay. In the event that, due to geographical distance, legal assistance is not immediately possible, telephone or videoconference with his lawyer will be provided to the detainee, unless such communication is impossible.
- d) Right to access the elements of the actions that are essential to challenge the legality of detention or deprivation of liberty.
- e) Right to inform the relative or person you want, without undue delay, your deprivation of liberty and the place of custody in which you are at any time. Foreigners will have the right to have the above circumstances communicated to the consular office of their country.
- f) Right to communicate by telephone, without undue delay, with a third party of your choice. This communication shall be held in the presence of a police officer or, where appropriate, of the official designated by the judge or prosecutor, without prejudice to the provisions of article 527.
- g) Right to be visited by the consular authorities of your country, to communicate and to correspond with them.
- h) Right to be assisted free of charge by an interpreter, in the case of a foreigner who does not understand or does not speak Spanish or the official language of the action in question, or of deaf or hearing impaired people, as well as other people with difficulties of language.
- i) Right to be recognized by the medical examiner or his legal substitute and, failing that, by that of the institution in which you are, or by any other dependent of the State or other Public Administrations.
- j) Right to request free legal assistance, procedure to do so and conditions to obtain it.
You will also be informed of the maximum legal term of detention until the judicial authority is made available and the procedure by which you can challenge the legality of your detention.
When a declaration of rights is not available in a language that the detainee understands, you will be informed of your rights through an interpreter as soon as possible. In this case, the written declaration of rights in a language that you understand must be submitted to you later and without undue delay.
In all cases, the detainee will be allowed to keep the written declaration of rights in his possession during the entire time of the detention.