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By Ingrid Melander
PARIS (Reuters) – French police are investigating the disappearance of Interpol leader Meng Hongwei, who was reported missing after his trip from France to China, while his wife was placed under police protection after receiving threats.
Meng's wife contacted the police in Lyon, the French city where the international police are based, after not having heard from him since September 25 and after receiving threats by phone and by the media announced the French Ministry of the Interior.
A person familiar with the investigation said that the original assumption was that Meng had somehow upset the Chinese authorities and had been arrested.
"France is puzzled by the situation of the President of Interpol and concerned about the threats made to his wife," said the Foreign Ministry, adding that he was in contact with China.
Meng's wife, who stayed in Lyon with their children, according to police sources, was under protection, he said.
The reason why Meng, 64, who was named president of Interpol two years ago, had gone to China did not clearly explain why he had not officially commented on his disappearance.
The Chinese Ministry of Public Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by fax and it was not mentioned in the official media on Saturday.
There have been several cases in recent years of top Chinese officials who have gone missing without explanation, the mere fact that the government announces weeks or even months later that they have been the subject of An investigation, often for alleged corruption.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, quoted by an anonymous source, was quoted as saying that Meng had been taken for interrogation as soon as he arrived in China, but no one knew why.
French police are investigating what is officially called "worrying disappearance" in France.
Interpol, which includes 192 countries and usually seeks to find missing or wanted persons, said in a statement from its Secretary General, Juergen Stock, have asked China for clarification.
"Interpol has asked the Chinese authorities for clarification from the Chinese authorities on the status of Interpol's president, Meng Hongwei," said Stock, current affairs manager of Interpol, said Saturday.
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Roderic Broadhurst, a professor of criminology at the Australian National University, said Meng's demise would be "rather puzzling" for members of international bodies working with China, and could ultimately undermine China's efforts to develop policy measures. Legal assistance cooperatives with other countries.
"It's weird," Broadhurst said Saturday, adding that China was on the cusp of "repairing" all the political damage that it could cause to Beijing's participation in international bodies.
"It's a price that may have to be paid, but I imagine that they would see a cost to bear," said Broadhurst.
The presidents of Interpol are seconded by their national administrations and remain at their original post while representing the international police body.
Meng appears on the website of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security as deputy minister, but lost his seat on the communist party's committee in April, the South China Morning Post reported.
Meng has nearly 40 years of experience in the field of criminal justice and law enforcement and has overseen issues relating to legal institutions, drug control and the fight against terrorism, according to the Interpol website.
Interpol staff may be in possession of a special passport to expedite deployment in emergency situations, but this would have conferred on Meng no specific rights or immunities in his country. d & # 39; origin.
When Meng was named Interpol's president in November 2016, human rights groups expressed concern that Beijing would seek to take advantage of its position to pursue dissidents abroad . In the past, Beijing has pressured countries to arrest and deport to China citizens accused of crimes ranging from corruption to terrorism.
At the time, Amnesty International had called the appointment of Meng "incoherent with Interpol's mandate to work in the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" .
(Reports by Catherine Lagrange in Lyon, Richard Lough, Simon Carraud, Sarah White and Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris, Mark Hosenball in London, Yawen Chen and Michael Martina in Beijing, edited by Richard Balmforth / Raju Gopalakrishnan / Alexander Smith)
