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On 13 February, Fair Trials wrote to Marise Payne, the Minister for Foreign Affairs in Australia, to raise concerns on how INTERPOL member countries, including Australia, have a crucial role to play to protect individuals who are unjustly targeted through INTERPOL’s channels.
According to the recent press release from the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, the Australian authorities were ‘not initially aware’ that the red notice against Hakeem Al-Araibi was invalid. It did not, however, clarify whether this was because they were unaware of his refugee status, or because of their ignorance of INTERPOL’s policy regarding refugees and asylum seekers. Either way, Fair Trials believes that this lack of awareness is inexcusable.
We welcome the fact that the Australian Government now recognises it made a mistake in relation to Mr Al-Araibi, and its commitment to prevent similar cases in the future. While we are glad to hear that Australia is reviewing its own procedures, we also believe that it can do more by supporting INTERPOL to do its work properly. If Australia is serious about tackling the misuse of INTERPOL, it also needs to address the challenges closer to home.
If you are a journalist interested in this story, please telephone Fair Trials’ press department on +44 (0) 20 7822 2370 or +32 (0) 2 360 04 71.
This year’s INTERPOL General Assembly brought concerns over the suggestion that a Russian delegate was the favourite to succeed Meng Hongwei as its next President. INTERPOL has received criticism for how it has allowed the misuse of its alert system, with Russia one among a number of countries well known for its abuse.
If you are a journalist interested in this story, please telephone Fair Trials’ press department on +44 (0) 20 7822 2370 or +32 (0) 2 360 04 71.
On 12 December 2018, Fair Trials wrote to Peter Dutton, the Minister for Home Affairs in Australia, to express our serious concerns regarding the statement made by the Department of Home Affairs regarding Hakeem Al-Araibi. Even though Al-Araibi is recognised by the Department of Home Affairs as a refugee under international law, he was arrested in Thailand last month because of an INTERPOL Red Notice. Now, with the Australian Federal Police (‘AFP’) actively facilitating the process, he is facing extradition to Bahrain, the very country he fled. Read our letter above.
If you are a journalist interested in this story, please telephone Fair Trials’ press department on +44 (0) 20 7822 2370 or +32 (0) 2 360 04 71.
Fair Trials welcomes the appointment of Kim Jong-yang as the president of the world’s largest international policing organisation at the INTERPOL General Assembly this year.
Jago Russell Fair Trials’ Chief Executive, described his reaction to the news:
“Fair Trials is hugely relieved by this result and delighted that Kim Jong-yang was elected with such a clear mandate to see through the reforms needed to prevent political abuse of the Red Notice system.”
If you are a journalist interested in this story, please telephone Fair Trials’ press department on +44 (0) 20 7822 2370 or +32 (0) 2 360 04 71.
Fair Trials has written to INTERPOL ahead of their next General Assembly, to request more transparency in the process of electing their replacement for Meng Hongwei. Meng, whose resignation was accepted last month, hasn’t been seen in public since he disappeared in September.
If you are a journalist interested in this story, please telephone Fair Trials’ press department on +44 (0) 20 7822 2370 or +32 (0) 2 360 04 71.
If you are a journalist interested in this story, please telephone Fair Trials’ press department on +44 (0) 20 7822 2370 or +32 (0) 2 360 04 71.
Fair Trials held a side-event at the OSCE’s Human Dimension Implementation Meeting on the abuse of cross-border cooperation mechanisms in the name of counter terrorism. The side event was held in conjunction with the Civic Solidarity Platform’s Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, Anti-Extremism and Human Rights, which Fair Trials coordinates the Moscow-based SOVA Center for Information and Analysis.
If you are a journalist interested in this story, please telephone Fair Trials’ press department on +44 (0) 20 7822 2370 or +32 (0) 2 360 04 71.
If you are a journalist interested in this story, please telephone Fair Trials’ press department on +44 (0) 20 7822 2370 or +32 (0) 2 360 04 71.
Last week, Bill Browder announced via Twitter that Russia was making a seventh request to have him arrested, just 3 weeks after he was arrested in Spain. After his Spanish arrest, INTERPOL released the following statement: “There is not, and never has been, a Red Notice for Bill Browder. Mr Browder is not wanted via Interpol channels.”
If you are a journalist interested in this story, please telephone Fair Trials’ press department on +44 (0) 20 7822 2370 or +32 (0) 2 360 04 71.
If you've been affected by an alert through INTERPOL, and would like help, or just to share your story, then please get in touch with us.
If you are a journalist interested in this story, please telephone Fair Trials’ press department on +44 (0) 20 7822 2370 or +32 (0) 2 360 04 71.
