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By Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn
LONDON / MOSCOW (Reuters) – Two of the most prominent critics of the Kremlin joined forces on Tuesday to try to prevent a Russian from becoming the next president of the international police organization Interpol, fearing that Moscow will not be able to fight. He abuses it so he can hunt down his critics.
The Interpol General Assembly is expected to elect a new president on Wednesday after China's incumbent Meng Hongwei disappears in September. Beijing later stated that she had arrested her in connection with a corruption investigation.
The battle to succeed him became political after Alexander Prokopchuk, former general of division at the Russian Interior Ministry, became one of the favorites for the post, a prospect that alarmed the criticism of President Vladimir Putin.
Russian dissident and former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky gave a press conference in London alongside Kremlin US spokesman Bill Browder, in which he warned against the election of Prokopchuk, stressing that this would make it easier for the Kremlin to manipulate Interpol. Moscow rejected such claims.
"Appointing such a person as head of the international law enforcement organization would not only damage the reputation of all Interpol member states, but would also pose a serious threat to those who could be considered potential victims of political persecution, "said Khodorkovsky.
Putin released Khodorkovsky in 2013 after spending a decade in prison for fraud, an accusation, according to Khodorkovsky, fabricated to punish him for funding the political opposition to Putin. The president said that he considered the businessman as an ordinary thief.
Browder, head of Hermitage Capital Management's investment fund, led a campaign to expose corruption and punish Russian officials that he blamed for the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 in a prison in Moscow.
"If a Russian is president of this organization, he will act on the instructions of Vladimir Putin," said Browder, who backed the president before becoming one of his most relentless international critics.
"Putting his representative in charge of the world's largest international crime-fighting organization, it's like putting the mafia in charge," Browder said.
Russian prosecutors announced on Monday that they suspected Browder of having sponsored a series of murders, including those of Magnitsky, in a twist that the financier described as ridiculous.
On Monday, four US senators jointly urged President Donald Trump to oppose Prokopchuk's candidacy and accused Russia of abusing Interpol to settle scores and harass dissidents by issuing arrest warrants. their arrest.
Browder was briefly arrested by the Spanish police in May on a Russian Red Notice from Interpol, who was later found to be invalid.
Politicians in Lithuania and Ukraine have urged their governments to leave Interpol if Prokopchuk is elected, while Britain has said it supports its South Korean rival Kim Jong Yang, currently senior vice president of the 39; organization.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that the opposition of US senators to Prokopchuk's candidacy amounted to electoral interference.
"It's probably about some type of interference in the electoral process of an international organization," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The Russian Ministry of Interior defended Prokopchuk.
"We are witnessing a campaign to discredit the Russian candidate," he said in a statement, complaining about what he called the unacceptable politicization of Interpol.
"Alexander Prokopchuk has many years of experience in the law enforcement field and is currently Vice President of Interpol (…), which confirms the trust and the high believes that his work in this international organization is dedicated. "
If he was elected, he would perform his duties only in the interest of Interpol, the ministry said.
The 194 member states of Interpol each have one vote in Dubai's Wednesday election, he said on his website. The laureate will serve the last two years of Meng Hongwei's original four-year term.
(Additional report by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius, Michael Holden in London and Tom Balmforth in Moscow, edited by Gareth Jones)
Copyright 2018 Thomson Reuters.
