People being questioned by police can as of today avail themselves of legal assistance throughout interrogations, the Justice Ministry announced. The right to legal assistance during interrogations was first introduced in February 2010, but suspects were only allowed to speak to their lawyer for up to one hour. This right has now been broadened to match the norm in many other European countries. Lawyers will now be able to sit in on interrogations, will be allowed to ask questions and be given the right to pass remarks "as allowed by procedure", the ministry statement said. The new system would ensure that people were not found guilty in cases where there were doubts about the way police statements had been obtained, the ministry said, to the benefit of the person being interrogated, the police and the justice system as a whole. "The previous government spent years dragging its feet on this issue," the ministry said. "In contrast, this government moved the legislative process forward in a careful and considered manner."
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