ArnieT Apr 7, 2016:

My personal opinion "to question" is more suitable is situations like "Witness, why didn't you appear for the hearing?" whereas "to interrogate" is more appropriate in situations like "Witness, were you with X when he was murdered?"
And of course, there are situations when "to testify" or "to be deposed" would be more appropriate. As they tell you, the devil is in the details, that is, in the context.
If I personally had any doubts as to which of the offered choices to use, I would go with "questioned" as the most neutral and encompassing.

ArnieT Apr 7, 2016:

Are you saying that based on these three examples I am not saying this. You are.
The three examples I cited are in no way an exhaustive list, as anyone who could bother him/herself to google this phrase (as I first suggested) would discover.
By no means am I saying that my suggestion of the translation is the appropriate one in the asker's case. On the contrary, I said "но нужно больше контекста, какой именно опрос был".
Finally, it's true that interrogate has probably the strongest meaning of the suggested answers, but it in no way means needles under fingernails or hot soldering iron up one's rectum. According to the Webster's Dictionary all it means is simply "to question formally and systematically."
And whether or not this choice will be suitable for the asker's situation is for her to decide based on the context of the situation, which she is not giving.

The Misha Apr 7, 2016:

The point of this entire exercise is to suggest a generally accepted, natural turn of phrase that is routinely used for the purpose where the target language is spoken. Sure, you can always find a few examples of different verbiage used for one reason or other. Are you saying that based on these three examples (of which one is from a foreign, nonnative source) we should all agree that witnesses in the US legal system are summoned to be "interrogated" rather than to testify in court?

As to the "quite different" functions that the courts and law enforcement in general perform in Russia, well, we are well aware... Just take my word on this, will you.

ArnieT Apr 7, 2016:

Concerning "interrogated by the court" To those disagreeing, I would suggest you first google this phrase and second investigate a bit into the court's functions. (Unless you think that it's the police's job to investigate.) In the Commonwealth countries these functions are quite different than in Russia.
Here are some examples:
The court called defendant as its witness and she was interrogated by the court and plaintiff's counsel.
(http://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/3d/21...
The Criminal Court in Skopje has interrogated the person I.G. on Monday, one of the suspects in the 'Titanic' case
(http://www.independent.mk/articles/27767/Titanic Case Court ...
This juror was interrogated by the court and counsel for defendant (appellant) wherein he stated that if the evidence was the same he would have a fixed opinion
(http://www.leagle.com/decision/1972867265So2d602_1829/GARVIN...