I Was Falsely Accused. What Should I Do?

In short

A claim of false accusation speaks of an unfounded criminal charge to a competent authority. A claim of false accusation speaks of loading an unfounded offence onto a competent authority. A word that breaks honour is in the insult article.

False accusation speaks of loading an unfounded offence onto a competent authority.

A word that breaks honour is in the insult article.

The report record and the content are read.

Related articles: the difference between insult and false accusation.

The first practical order

1. Document which charge went to which authority.
2. Do not mix an insult tweet with a prosecution report.
3. Tie the time of the counter-complaint to the date of learning. Do not write a day by heart.

First separate the concept of false accusation from daily use

In daily language every lie said about a person can be called a “false accusation.” In criminal law there is a narrower concept that has elements. In the general frame, false accusation is related to conduct that aims to start an investigation, a prosecution, or an administrative sanction about a person by attributing an unlawful act even though the person knows that the other person did not commit it.

For this reason, that a complaint made about you stayed without a result does not, on its own, show that the complainant committed the offence of false accusation. The person may have remembered the event wrongly, may have relied on incomplete information, or may have assessed the legal nature wrongly. In a claim of false accusation, the knowledge and the purpose of the person who made the charge are also examined, beside the contradiction with the truth.

The charge does not have to happen only with a petition given to the prosecution. Other notices suitable to set a competent authority in motion, or conduct such as fabricating a material trace and a work, can also be assessed according to the features of the event. Not every heavy word or piece of gossip on social media enters the scope of the same offence automatically.

Give priority to the defence in the main file about you

The first reaction of a person who thinks the person has met an unfounded criminal charge can be to make a counter-complaint. If there is an investigation or an action continuing about you, the priority is to learn the charge in that file, to protect the evidence in favour, and to use the rights of defence. Saying “a false accusation was made against me” does not of itself remove the burden of explaining the event that is the subject of the charge.

The following points should be made clear in the main file:

• The act that was charged, the date, and the place
• The records the complainant’s account rests on
• The documents that show the event did not happen, or that it was different
• The people who know the event directly
• The previous dispute between the parties, and its connection with the charge
• Evidence that can be lost, such as a camera, a location, a payment, or an institutional record

If it is known where the evidence in favour is, its collection can be asked openly from the competent authority. Which fact the evidence will show should be stated, rather than general and scattered requests. For the possible decisions of the investigation, the working of a prosecution investigation can be examined separately.

Protect the first complaint, the post, and the decision documents

For a claim of false accusation to be examined, what the charge exactly is should be seen. The complaint petition, the statement minute, the email, the institutional notice, or the social-media post should be protected with its full context as far as possible. A screenshot of only a single sentence may not show the account before and after.

In digital content, the account name, the profile link, the date, the hour, and the access information of the post should be recorded. If the content will be deleted, or if it changes quickly, lawful methods of identification can be assessed. Entering another person’s account without permission, or spreading personal data to the public, is not a method of collecting evidence.

If there is a decision of no grounds for prosecution, an acquittal, or another decision given in the official file, not only the result part but also its reasoning is important. The reason the decision was given affects the assessment of the contradiction with the truth in the false-accusation claim. If the decision has not yet become final, this situation should also be noted.

Separate insult, false accusation, and a violation of personality rights

Insult relates to the attribution of a concrete act, or to expressions of swearing, that target the person’s honour, dignity, and respectability. False accusation differs as to the purpose of setting the competent process in motion by attributing an unlawful act known not to have been committed. A word can be disturbing and damaging to reputation and still not carry all the elements of the offence of false accusation.

For example, a heavy word used in a closed group of friends can give birth, according to the context, to an argument of insult or of a violation of personality rights. The same person’s making a notice of an offence contrary to the truth to the employer or to an official institution, with the purpose that a sanction be applied about you, requires another assessment. The details of the concrete example change the result.

The difference between insult and false accusation details this conceptual limit. It should also not be forgotten that a claim of insult has procedural headings of its own, such as the complaint and mediation. That an application is made under the wrong name of an offence does not mean the application is entirely worthless. Telling the event fully and correctly is more important.

Which evidence can show the contradiction with the truth?

The type of the charge determines the evidence that is needed. If it is claimed that you were at a particular place, a location, a workplace entry, or a camera record can be important. If it is claimed that you took money, the bank and contract records can be important. If it is claimed that you sent a message, an examination of the account and of the device can be important. There is no standard document list for every file.

The evidence can be classified according to these three questions:

• Did the event that was charged happen objectively?
• If the event did not happen, from where did the person who made the charge know this?
• What was the purpose of the notice, and which authority did it turn to?

The first question illuminates the truth of the main event. The second and third questions illuminate the knowledge and the purpose in the false-accusation claim. Saying only “the person did not like me” or “we were on bad terms” can give an idea about the motive. It may not prove, on its own, a knowing contradiction with the truth.

If a witness account will be used, which event the witness saw directly should be stated. A person who conveys what the person heard from the parties, and a person who was present at the moment of the event, may not have the same evidence value. The originality of the documents, and that they were obtained lawfully, should be protected.

Why does it matter that the person who made the charge knew the truth?

That a criminal complaint comes out wrong, and that a wrong criminal charge is made knowingly, are not the same. In the assessment of a false accusation, it is examined whether the person acted with the purpose of starting a process about the other side even though the person knew the truth. This knowledge is often tried to be understood not with a direct confession, but with the conditions of the event and with contradictory records.

For example, it can be important that the complainant showed a person the complainant knew was not at the scene as if the person were there, submitted an altered document, or accepted in earlier correspondence that the event was different. By contrast, a dispute arising from the interpretation of a contract in a complex commercial relation does not, on its own, give birth to the result of a knowingly false charge.

The change of the statements in the first file over time can also be examined. A small mistake of date, and a contradiction that changes the basis of the event, should be separated. The claim should be built from the whole of the records, rather than from a personal opinion.

Plan the time and the scope of the application

For a claim of false accusation, an application can be made to the chief public prosecutor’s office or to the law enforcement. While the first investigation about you continues, when the new application will be made should be thought of according to the structure of the file. The result of the first file can be important as to the truth of the charge and as to the complainant’s state of knowledge. There is not a single rule, in every event, of waiting for the definite result or of applying at once.

While the application is prepared, the following can be told under separate headings:

• The full text of the charge directed at you
• Why the charge is objectively wrong
• The facts that show the person who made the charge knew the truth
• Which authority or persons the notice was directed at
• The process that started about you, and its results
• A chronological list of the documents that were attached

The criminal application should not be used to force the other side to withdraw the complaint. A counter-application put forward like a threat, before the concrete elements have been formed, can give birth to a new dispute.

Be measured when giving a public reply

If the charge has spread on social media or in the work circle, the person may want to make a wide explanation at once. Sharing the details of a continuing investigation, the complainant’s personal data, or documents that belong to third persons can lead to new violations of rights. A public reply also does not take the place of the legal application.

Sending a message that contains a counter-insult or a threat, in anger, should be avoided. Building pressure on the person, or on the person’s relatives, so that the complaint is withdrawn produces a new record that can be read against you in the first file. The necessary communication can be conducted through a legal representative or through official channels.

As to the protection of reputation, different legal routes such as a correction, the removal of the content, the blocking of access, or damages can come onto the agenda according to the concrete event. It should not be forgotten that these routes are not subject to the same conditions as a criminal complaint.

Document the dimension of harm and of damages in Ankara separately

Because of an unfounded charge, a work relation may have been disrupted, a loss of income may have arisen, a need for treatment may have been born, or personality rights may have been damaged. These harms should not be raised only verbally. A connection should be built with a workplace writing, an income record, a health document, access data, or other suitable evidence.

The purpose of a criminal investigation is to examine the suspicion of an offence. Pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages require a separate assessment according to the conditions of private law. The result of the criminal file can be important in the examination of damages, but it is not automatically determining in every case. Elements such as unlawfulness, fault, harm, and the causal link are taken up in their own frame.

If the harm continues, the possibilities of reducing it should also be thought of. Notifying the platform of the wrong content, submitting a measured document to the employer, or protecting the access records can be useful according to the conditions of the event. These steps should be conducted without exposing the other side to the public.

Following the file and the service in Ankara

In applications made in Ankara, the investigation number of the first file, the relevant chief-prosecutor unit, and the copies of the decisions that were given should be kept regularly. If jurisdiction is in another place because of the event or the connection of the party, the file can be sent. This situation does not mean the application was refused. It is a procedural act relating to the determination of the competent unit.

Because of the volume of judicial work, the movements of the first file and of the file relating to the false-accusation claim can happen at different times. The address and the electronic-notification information should be kept current. When the reasoned decisions are served, the legal remedies and the periods should be checked in the particular file. Local practice does not change the elements of the offence.

The last assessment

When you think you have been falsely accused, first build the defence in the main file about you. Protect the first complaint, the post, and the decision documents completely. Take into account that not every claim that looks unfounded is a false accusation, and that elements such as a charge knowingly contrary to the truth and the purpose of a sanction are examined separately. Act without mixing the routes of insult, of a violation of personality rights, and of false accusation.

This text is for general information. The result of the first file, the content of the charge, the complainant’s state of knowledge, and the evidence in hand are assessed separately in every event. For the conceptual distinction, the difference between insult and false accusation, for the insult process, the offence of insult, and for the general criminal frame, the contents of criminal law can be examined.

The authority the charge went to is read from the record. A term of imprisonment that is not in the file is not added. The distinction is built from the report record. The office in Çankaya does not choose the competent authority in this charge file.

Conclusion

This article is for general information. The document, the time, and the procedure of the concrete event should be read separately. There is no promise of a result by heart.