Interpol scrutinising 40,000 wanted notices for political abuse

Interpol is examining tens of thousands of wanted person notices submitted by member countries to determine whether they are politically motivated, according to a confidential memo obtained on Friday by Associated Press.

Several recent cases, including the detention of a Turkish-German writer in Spain at Turkey’s behest, have raised concerns about possible misuse of “Red Notices” that the international police agency distributes on behalf of its members to further arrests of fugitives.

The confidential memo compiled by European security officials detailed a November 20 meeting between European Union diplomats and Interpol representatives, who said they were examining up to 40,000 Red Notices.

The memo quotes representatives from the law enforcement agency based in France saying the review would take “some time” and welcoming support from member states.

Interpol declined to confirm the number of wanted person notices under review, but said in a statement that new procedures were put in place last year to prevent the communiqués from being issued to persecute dissidents.

The agency said the new measures included the creation of a task force charged with examining whether wanted person alerts should be maintained or cancelled.