If you get nicked at 1AM, there is zero chance anybody can do anything, until at least 9AM, so my advice will always be to be polite, comply, and more importantly keep your words to a minimum until you can see a lawyer. I probably wouldn't even call anybody.
There is no glory in prevention, as they say. If you live in a (near) authoritarian state, this is some valuable information. Importantly, if your home country isn’t authoritarian today, that doesn’t mean it won’t be tomorrow.
So-called democratic, free, and liberal states routinely abuse their power. You may not be among those who experience it — yet — but try becoming an inconvenience to your local overlord and see how quickly the rule of law can be violated.
The star wars Lego saga is a great example of this. For decades there's been pockets of America that are fiefdoms of some sheriff department exercising "extralegal" authority.
Be careful with the emergency contacts. In the UK there have been instances of threats being made to emergency contacts when phones are stolen. You should be able to authenticate yourself.
I enjoyed the article, lots of good advice centered around contact lists. But in my humble opinion, the best strategy is to take steps to avoid needing an emergency contact list.
This is a fantastic read that deserves to be in the front page, because this is something really important that is easily forgotten, so it was nice of the author to share, and I guess we have to share this too.
This is an issue that is truly bothering me lately, given the alt-rightish slippery-slope that we're experiencing here in EU.
If I am getting arrested for taking part to an anti-genocide manifestation or anything related to climate change, I don't expect authorities to play by the book regarding my rights (Not taking a moral judgement here - they're taking care of their interests, i'm taking care of mine, I'm rather cynical about the whole endeavor) and let me easily get in touch with family or support groups.
My list would also include:
- Lawyer;
- Any relative, friend or acquaintance in a position of authority who I can trust;
- Any journalist friend I can quickly get in touch.
The question then quickly becomes: What information to relay? And how? Also, how to conceal that to whoever is waking you up at 1:00am to bring you in your pajamas to a police station to be questioned at 3:00pm of the following day?
"Know where your loved ones are at all times" feels like a call for stalking to me. There are boundaries to everything, and they should be respected. "I love you" isn't a sufficient reason to be pathologically close.
An "I'll be at xyz" or "I'll be home at abc" will be enough, I don't think the article is calling for location tracking - although plenty of people have that as a matter of course. I wouldn't want that - someone else's anxiety about my whereabouts are not my problem to solve - but plenty of people do.
If I am getting arrested for taking part to an anti-genocide manifestation or anything related to climate change, I don't expect authorities to play by the book regarding my rights (Not taking a moral judgement here - they're taking care of their interests, i'm taking care of mine, I'm rather cynical about the whole endeavor) and let me easily get in touch with family or support groups.
My list would also include:
- Lawyer;
- Any relative, friend or acquaintance in a position of authority who I can trust;
- Any journalist friend I can quickly get in touch.
The question then quickly becomes: What information to relay? And how? Also, how to conceal that to whoever is waking you up at 1:00am to bring you in your pajamas to a police station to be questioned at 3:00pm of the following day?