Interpol Abuse is out of control

I work for a legal firm based in the UK, we focus on the plight of foreigners arbitrarily detained, falsely accused and wrongfully convicted in the Arabian Gulf States.

One of the issues we have seen with increasing frequency is Interpol abuse. Gulf States use Interpol as an instrument for debt collection and extortion; even though this violates Interpol's own rules on data collection. People are not supposed to be listed on Interpol with a Red Notice over private, civil disputes, but countries like the UAE and Qatar request Red Notices against individuals for bounced cheques all the time. These people are then stopped at airports, detained, and many times subjected to extradition hearings. They are at risk of being deported to those countries, where they will be jailed indefinitely. Yes, indefinitely.

In the UAE, for instance, anyone with an outstanding debt can be incarcerated well beyond their actual court sentence because they will not be eligible for release until their debt is paid in full. Obviously, being jailed cripples their ability to earn an income and make installments on a loan, so they can be left to languish in prison for years.

Interpol does not screen requests from member countries to ensure that they adhere to the organisation's rules on data collection; they just issue Red Notices upon request. Once someone has been listed, they have to appeal against the Red Notice themselves directly to Interpol's headquarters in Lyon, France. They may have to wait 9 months to a year before Interpol renders a decision on their case. In the meantime, they simply cannot risk international travel, and may, in fact, be subject to arrest even in their home countries on the basis of their listing.

Once Interpol reviews their appeal, and discovers that the Red Notice does not comply with Interpol's rules, their file will be deleted from Interpol's database; but they receive no compensation for their mental anguish, their detention, their loss of income, and their financial expenses incurred while fighting the listing.

Interpol is in desperate need of reform. There needs to be transparency, accountability, and some sort of mechanism for combating habitual manipulation of the system by authoritarian states. This is something my organisation is working on, but the effort requires much greater awareness, as most people do not even really know what Interpol does.

So...this is a bit of a rant...I have to vent sometimes due to the cases I come across at work...hope it was informative though!