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LONDON – Interpol is facing a turning point – perhaps even fatal – in its history, as its members decide to hand over its presidency to a man representing Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Critics of the Kremlin fear being arrested soon wherever they go. Western governments are concerned that Russia may use the post to undermine the rule of law.
Interpol, which elects a new president on Wednesday, has met many challenges in 95 years. While Hollywood portrays it as a hive of defending agents, it is actually an organization sometimes entangled in paperwork and conflicting geopolitical interests. The Nazis took it back in the 1930s and authoritarian governments have long been trying to use it to hunt fugitive dissidents.
But the latest wave of criticism comes at an exceptional moment – in the same way that Russia is trying to increase its influence at the global level and that some powerful countries are wondering whether they need multilateral organizations like Interpol.
Interpol's general assembly chooses the new president of this agency at a meeting in Dubai, where the main candidate is Alexander Prokopchuk, general of the Ministry of the Interior of Russia and currently vice-president of Interpol. Interpol Interim President Kim Jong Yang of South Korea is also seeking the post.
Two prominent critics of the Kremlin warned on Tuesday that the election of a top Russian would undermine the international police force and politicize cross-border police cooperation.
Bill Browder, who runs an investment fund that had already been set up in Moscow, and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an oligarch who became a dissident, told the press in London that Putin had tried to use Interpol to chase critics like themselves. . If a Russian was at the head of the agency, they could step up their efforts to silence dissent, they said.
Activists say the organization needs to step up its recent muscle reform efforts, which will not happen if Prokopchuk becomes president because of his ties to Putin.
"It was his government that organized a terrorist attack in the UK with chemical weapons in Salisbury. It's his government that shot down MH17, killing 298 innocent people. It's his government that has cheated and hacked into elections in the United States and Europe, "Browder said about Putin. "Putting your representative at the head of the largest international organization fighting crime, it's like putting the mafia in charge."
For Moscow, the complaints are all part of a campaign by Westerners to weaken reborn Russia.
Russia denies accusations of foreign interference and has announced new charges against Browder this week as part of a long legal battle against him. Russian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk on Tuesday accused critics of leading a "smear campaign" against Prokopchuk, calling him a respected professional.
Browder has called for sanctions against Russian officials accused of human rights abuses after the death of his former lawyer in custody. Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon, spent a decade in prison after posting his political ambitions. Both declared that their place in the public eye would make them poor targets of abuse, adding that they were motivated to express themselves because many other lesser known militants would be silenced if the governments were allowed to export the repression.
The White House pronounced Tuesday against the election of Prokopchuk. National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said that "the Russian government is abusing the Interpol process to harass its political opponents". He said the United States "strongly supported" Kim.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added, "We encourage all nations and organizations that are part of Interpol and respect the rule of law to choose a leader with the credibility and integrity that is one of the most the world's most critical enforcement bodies. We believe that Mr. Kim will be just that. "
The Interpol General Assembly is composed of 192 Member States, each with an equal vote.
Based in Lyon, France, Interpol is best known for publishing "red notices" identifying a suspect sued by another country, placing them on the list of "most wanted people" in the world.
Critics say countries like Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran and China have used the system to try to bring together political opponents, journalists and activists.
The monitoring group, Fair Trials International, detailed in a report released last month Interpol's progress in reducing political abuse of Red Notices. The leader of the group, Jago Russell, said that a Russian official, as president of Interpol, could block or reverse these reforms.
"We are at a crucial time for Interpol," he told the Associated Press.
"Either countries are moving away from it and finding other ways to cooperate, or Interpol is repairing its system so that it can trust. … We already hear a lot about the withdrawal of "Interpol" and the creation of a separate agency reserved for democratic countries, he said.
The United States seems at the moment attached to Interpol, but they have withdrawn from UNESCO and international agreements under the presidency of Donald Trump. Britain is withdrawing from the European Union and has said it is concerned about the management of international organizations funded by taxpayers.
Interpol itself will not comment on the forthcoming vote. The Interpol Presidency is more of a supervisory function than the leadership role of the Secretary General.
The Interpol Charter explicitly proclaims its neutrality and, two years ago, it adopted measures to strengthen the legal framework around the red notice system. As part of the amendments, an international team of lawyers and experts first verifies the compliance of a notice with Interpol rules and regulations prior to publication.
But the possibility of a Putin loyalist in such a prominent role has aroused the concern of those who criticize the leaders of the Russian president. Four US senators, including Marco Rubio, urged the Trump administration to oppose Prokopchuk's bid. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia "supported the Russian candidate," saying it was an interference in the vote.
Fair Trials International has warned that a Russian president of Interpol might try to limit the staffing costs needed to control red notices, for example, or to get rid of a recent measure to protect them. refugees from an unjust arrest.
This is not the first time that Interpol's votes have been controversial.
Human rights groups sounded the alarm two years ago when the Interpol General Assembly approved Meng Hongwei, China's long-time senior security official, for the Presidency. Amnesty International has criticized "China's long-standing practice of using Interpol to arrest dissidents and refugees abroad."
Meng is now arrested in China as part of a possible internal political purge – hence Wednesday's emergency vote to replace him.
The Interpol General Assembly is also voting on membership, as it did on Tuesday, when it rejected Kosovo's admission. Interpol members voted last year to admit Palestine as a member, which provoked an uproar in Israel.
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Charlton brought back from Paris. Associated press editors Nataliya Vasilyeva and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Matthew Lee in Washington also contributed.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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