An Interpol Attorney's Perspective on Red Notices, International Extradition and Related Matters
INTERPOL’s most well-known tool, the Red Notice, exists to aid its member countries’ law enforcement efforts for the following purpose:
To seek the arrest or provisional arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition.
Member countries are required to be responsive to requests for supporting documentation regarding the grounds for an extradition request…
A reader recently inquired as to how a Red Notice requested by Country “A” could remain outstanding in his name when his own country, Country “B,” had found a complete lack of evidence for the charges after an investigation.
This reader’s problem is rooted in the fact that it is the underlying criminal charges, as…
In last week’s post on the Egyptian (since failed) effort to obtain Red Notices against NGO staff members, the focus was on the Red Notice aspect of the issue. One of the readers, however, sent in this comment:
Great article and thanks. But you did not mention how diffusion notices bypass any oversight or appeal…
Last week, we addressed the issue of former premier Michael Misick of Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). A Red Notice was issued against Mr. Misick, based on underlying allegations of money laundering and corruption.
Recently, the TCI government addressed concerns about the reason behind the issuance of the Red Notice. There has been public speculation…
As much as we may complain about some NCB’s (National Central Bureaus) behaving improperly with respect to their INTERPOL duties, it’s always nice to hear that others handle their responsibilities properly.
A few months ago, I spoke with a subject of a Red Notice from Denmark who had agreed to be extradited in order to…
One of the very few moments that a criminal defendant has control over a criminal matter is when he first becomes aware of the criminal allegations. If a defendant’s attorney acts quickly enough, information discovered during an investigation can prevent charges from ever being filed. If they are filed, the information that was gathered during…
A reader commented on February 12 as follows regarding an old post regarding Venezuela’s Red Notice history:
“Your animus towards Venezuela (or towards the Chavez Govt.) is misplaced, given the malfeasance of other INTERPOL member states. The judge you mention, Maria Lourdes Afiun, did not merely dismiss charges against a corrupt Venezuelan banker (which
…
In the last post, the focus was on INTERPOL’s consciousness of its potential vulnerability to legal action based on improperly issued Red Notices. INTERPOL’s I-Link system, which allows member countries much more broad discretion in the issuance of Red Notices, has allowed for information to be processed using INTERPOL’s databases in a way that was…
In a recent MSNBC.com article, Ian Johnston reports on some of the frustrations experienced by Red Notice subjects as they attempt to challenge their Red Notices. He addresses the issue of possibly pending lawsuits against INTERPOL as a means of changing the manner in which a Red Notice is issued or challenged.
Although such efforts…
Back in December, I received the following comment from a reader in response to the post entitled, “How Much Political Motivation is Too Much for INTERPOL?”
“I have been working in this Organization for the past 10 years and i can easily say that decisions on issuing red notices mainly depend on several people, when it comes…
