TNR Watch: Interpol on Notice

A recent decision by a Serbian court to allow the extradition of a Belarusian journalist, who had been detained based on a politically motivated Interpol Red Notice, highlights the pernicious effects of this ongoing weaponization of the international police institution. Although Interpol has made improvements to its processes, it remains vulnerable to abuse.

Red Alert: On October 31, 2023, Serbian law enforcement officers detained Belarusian activist and journalist Andrei Hniot at the Belgrade airport based on a spurious Interpol Red Notice requested by the Belarusian government. Hniot, who faces trumped-up tax evasion charges, had come under scrutiny by Belarusian authorities after he united athletes against Belarusian president Alyaksandr Lukashenka and cooperated with independent media outlets during the country’s 2020 prodemocracy protests. Although Interpol’s oversight agency, the Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files, informed his lawyers that the organization eventually blocked access to the journalist’s profile in February 2024, he spent seven months in a detention facility and discovered that the Belgrade High Court had approved his extradition to Belarus in a May 2024 decision. Currently under house arrest in Serbia, Hniot is appealing the ruling, arguing that his return to Belarus would lead to a “painful death.”

Interpol Abuse: Interpol is not a stand-alone international police force, but rather allows member governments to share information with one another about wanted individuals or missing persons. According to its constitution, Interpol cannot “undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.” In practice, however, member states such as Russia, Rwanda, and Turkey have exploited the system to pursue political opponents across the world. Despite growing awareness of the use of spurious Red Notices and other Interpol mechanisms by nefarious state actors, abuses of the system continue to occur. In January 2022, Serbian authorities detained and deported Bahraini dissident Ahmed Jaffar Mohammed Ali based on a politically motivated Red Notice requested by the Bahraini government. In August 2023, two Egyptian dissidents were detained in Bahrain in connection with Interpol Red Notices and subsequently returned to Egypt, where they were charged with leading a terrorist group.

Even when Interpol acknowledges the faulty nature of a Red Notice or notification by either withdrawing it or blocking access to the individual’s file, it is often too late to repair the damage. For example, Uyghur activist Idris Hasan was detained by Moroccan authorities in July 2021 after the Chinese government requested a Red Notice for him. Only weeks later, Interpol’s National Central Bureau in Rabat invalidated the request, but this had no bearing on a Rabat court’s December 2021 decision to approve Hasan’s transfer to China, a country with which Morocco has an extradition treaty. He remains in detention in Morocco, awaiting his extradition.

Room for Reform: As Interpol abuse has drawn more attention, the organization has worked to address the mounting concerns. In 2016, officials created the Notices and Diffusions Task Force (NDTF) to review requests and ensure that they conform to Interpol’s constitution. A year later, Interpol’s General Assembly resolved to refuse publication of any Red Notices that target confirmed refugees. Yet the persistence of politically motivated detentions shows that there is more to be done. Transparency is still lacking regarding the issuance of Red Notices and the procedures of the NDTF. In 2021, member states elected Ahmed Naser al-Raisi as Interpol president despite accusations that he had overseen torture as an official in the United Arab Emirates’ Interior Ministry. Finally, Interpol plans to hold its 2025 General Assembly in Morocco, the same country that complied with the Red Notice targeting Idris Hasan.