November 19, 2001: ACLU Know Your Rights Pamphlet: What to Do If You're Stopped by the Police, the FBI, the INS or the Customs Service

For Immediate Release
Novemer 19, 2001

Contact: Hedy Weinberg, ACLU-TN Executive Director,
615-320-7142

As Government Prepares to Investigate Thousands, ACLU Issues Multi-Lingual"Know Your Rights!" Pamphlet to Educate Public

The ACLU of Tennessee today announced the availability of brochures in English, Spanish and Arabic advising people about their rights when stopped or questioned by the FBI, police or INS officials. The pamphlet -- entitled, "Know Your Rights: What to Do If You're Stopped by the Police, the FBI, the INS or the Customs Service" -- contains information for citizens and non-citizens alike and is intended for those who feel at risk of becoming innocent targets of a government investigation in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"The ACLU created the 'Know Your Rights' pamphlets because of our concern that many people, especially non-citizens, are not fully aware of their rights when being questioned or detained by law enforcement," said ACLU-TN Executive Director Hedy Weinberg. "Attorney General Ashcroft's announcement that thousands of young men from Middle Eastern countries will be questioned by the FBI, simply because of where they are from and not based on suspicion, makes it doubly important that every person understand his or her constitutional rights."

None of the advice in the pamphlet is meant to stop people from cooperating with proper law enforcement investigations, Weinberg added, noting that the pamphlet advises those who are being questioned by authorities to be careful but truthful in their answers.

The pamphlet is written in a straightforward style and offers pragmatic advice in a question-and-answer format. The pamphlet also soon will be published in Farsi, Urdu, Punjabi, and Hindi.

Weinberg said there is a great deal of uncertainty and misunderstanding about people's rights and responsibilities regarding encounters with law enforcement. These brochures answer the vast majority of questions that have been raised about stops, questioning, searches, and rights of non-citizens.

The brochures are available from the ACLU-TN office. They can be obtained by calling and leaving a message at 615-320-7142. They are also available for download in Adobe Acrobat/PDF format from the ACLU-TN website at: www.63.134.206.153.

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English (47 KB)| Spanish (57 KB) | Arabic (268 KB) |
Urdu (284 KB)| Hindi (155 KB) | Punjabi (178 KB) |
Farsi (366 KB) | Somali (85 KB)