How do you claim compensation for the unlawful activities of investigating authorities?
Right to compensation
You can also ask for compensation if you have suffered damages as a result of mistreatment by the police during an investigation. You may have suffered damages that resulted in material losses. In addition, mistreatment may leave psychological effects and cause suffering, for which you can ask moral compensation.
Compensation in a criminal case
An investigator may open a criminal case against police officers on the basis of your complaint. In this case, you can ask for compensation for damages as a victim in criminal proceedings. If the compensation claim cannot, or cannot fully, redress your damages within criminal proceedings, you have the further right to ask for these damages by filing a civil claim. In some cases, you also have rights to compensation from the State as a victim. Read more about this in the Law on Compensation of Damage Caused by Violent Crimes.
Compensation in civil proceedings
There may also be situations where the actions of the police officers will not qualify as a criminal offence. But this does not necessarily mean that certain activities of the police officers during the investigation did not violate your rights. In these situations, the prosecution can only issue a decision, which states whether certain behaviour during the investigation amounted to a violation of your rights. They cannot grant you compensation for damages.
In this case, you can raise a claim against the State in a court of general jurisdiction (civil court). You can use the decision of the prosecution as evidence that an unlawful activity took place, as a result of which you sustained damages.