INTERPOL does not name system abusers in order to preserve int’l police cooperation: secretary general

Bünyamin Tekin

Jürgen Stock, the secretary general of INTERPOL, said in a recent “60 Minutes” interview on CBS News that while the organization is aware of abuses of its systems, including prominent Red Notice alerts, it chooses not to “name and shame” member countries, which explains the organization’s inaction on countries such as Russia, China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

According to Stock, this stance is due to INTERPOL’s commitment to keeping information channels open, even between states with diplomatic conflicts or a poor human rights record. Stock explained that INTERPOL’s role as a technical police organization does not extend to monitoring the human rights agendas of member states.

The Red Notice, an important tool in INTERPOL’s arsenal, serves as a digital wanted poster for fugitives worldwide. However, it has been misused by some member countries.

Russia, China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates in particular have been accused of misusing Red Notices to pursue political dissidents and critics. Russia accounts for almost half of the Red Notices published by INTERPOL.

In the “60 Minutes” interview, the case of Bill Browder is cited as an example of the possibility of abuse. The US-born financier, who has been a vocal critic of corruption in Russia, was targeted eight times by Moscow via INTERPOL. His most harrowing encounter took place in Spain in 2018, where he narrowly escaped extradition to Russia thanks to quick thinking and a timely tweet.

INTERPOL acknowledges these abuses and at the same time admits that its system is not foolproof. In 2022, 304 out of almost 24,000 wanted alerts were found to be in violation of INTERPOL’s rules and were subsequently rejected or deleted. However, the organization declined to disclose which countries committed the worst violations.

Rhys Davies and Ben Keith, British lawyers who specialize in INTERPOL’s complex bureaucracy, believe that INTERPOL’s reluctance to punish countries appropriately, even when they blatantly violate its rules, undermines the organization’s integrity.

Speaking to Turkish Minute, Keith expressed concern about the lack of transparency in INTERPOL’s processes and the absence of tough disciplinary sanctions against countries that abuse the system.

“To reform INTERPOL, the organization needs to become transparent,” Keith told Turkish Minute.

“All the processes are completely opaque. We do not know who is elected or how and what the voting is,” he said.

Turkey has been accused of abusing INTERPOL mechanisms, particularly Red Notices, to target political opponents. These Red Notices have resulted in the freezing of assets, revocation of passports and restrictions on movement, causing damage to the reputation of individuals labeled as international criminals.

The European Parliament has also emphasized the need for further action by INTERPOL to prevent the abuse of its mechanisms by authoritarian regimes. The parliament’s report called for more transparency, effective procedures to prevent Red Notice abuse and improved capacity to identify and eliminate abusive Red Notices. It highlighted the lack of full transparency in INTERPOL’s actions and the need for better legal safeguards and implementation of reforms.

“It is regrettable to see that INTERPOL does not seem to pay sufficient attention to the protection of the fundamental rights of persons who may be victims of abuse of INTERPOL mechanisms,” Brussels-based lawyer Ali Yıldız told Turkish Minute.

“When these individuals seek redress, the response is often delayed. Moreover, the only remedy available to these victims is the deletion of their data from INTERPOL’s databases. This approach does not address the broader spectrum of harm inflicted as it does not provide for compensation for the harm suffered, regardless of whether it is financial or non-financial,” he added.

According to a report by the Stockholm Center for Freedom, the Turkish government under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has used the International Notice System, such as Red Notices and diffusions, to target political opponents who have done nothing more than criticize the government.

Similarly, it has also abused INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents Database by filing tens of thousands of notifications for critics and opponents who, in many instances, were not even aware that their passports had been invalidated.

Since a coup attempt in 2016 the Erdoğan government has employed extralegal methods to secure the return of its critics after its official extradition requests have been denied. The government’s campaign has mostly relied on renditions, in which the government persuades the relevant states to hand over individuals without due process, using various methods.

The victims have suffered a number of human rights violations including arbitrary arrests, house raids, torture and ill-treatment during these operations.

In several of these cases the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) concluded that the arrest, detention and forced transfer to Turkey of Turkish nationals were arbitrary and in violation of international human rights norms and standards.