In April 2012, MCLU attorney, Najmeh Vahid Dastjerdi, explained why you should not speak with the FBI without an attorney present and recommended ways to deal with such FBI requests. We hope you find this helpful and you become a member of this organization at www.MuslimCLU.org, so our efforts to educate the public and defend against religious persecution can continue.
‘I’ve heard of cases where the FBI tries to coerce people and obtain information just in those few moments as the client refuses to speak. That is why I recommend that a recorder is carried and the agents advised about the recording. That way they won’t try to do that knowing they’re on tape.
I [also] think it is a great idea to carry the business card of your attorney and hand it over to the agents. However, you would also want to get the agent’s information for your records. It’s important to have an account of who (which agent and which agency) has approached you and when. It’s important to have a record.
If you are subpoenaed by the government to testify, you should only testify. This means that you should only talk and answer questions in front of the Grand Jury or Jury. Some people think they should talk to the agents or the government’s attorney because of the subpoena. When you testify in court, your words are transcribed, so you will not be accused of lying, if you tell the truth and they cannot start fishing i.e. ask you about other matters. Also, they will have to let you know if you are the target of an investigation before your testimony. In both cases, you MUST hire an attorney before testifying because you may turn into the government’s target in the process depending on the case.’



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