Facts
The appellant [C.B.] was convicted by the High Court of the Canton of Aargau for qualified deception of the authorities (Art. 118 para. 1 and para. 3 lit. a FNIA) and sentenced. The appellant had submitted a family reunification application based on a sham marriage and deceived the Office for Migration and Integration of the Canton of Aargau (MIKA) in order to obtain a residence permit for his wife. The appellant was questioned by the police on 8 March 2019 and made a confession. The appellant requests that the judgment of the High Court be set aside and that he be acquitted of the charge of qualified deception of the authorities.
The lower court had considered the appellant's confession to be admissible, as it was a spontaneous statement and the appellant had been informed of his right to refuse to testify. However, the appellant argues that the police questioning was inadequate, as he was not properly informed and the questioning did not meet the requirements of criminal procedure.
Considerations
The Federal Court upheld the appellant's appeal and set aside the judgment of the High Court. The Federal Court concluded that the questioning of the appellant by the police did not meet the requirements of criminal procedure, as the appellant had not been properly informed and the questioning did not comply with the requirements of Art. 158 para. 1 CrimPC.
The Federal Court stated that the police should have treated and questioned the appellant as a suspect, as the suspicion of a sham marriage and migration-related issues simultaneously raised the suspicion of a criminal offense (Art. 118 FNIA). The police should have informed the appellant about…