While the 90th meeting of the Interpol General Assembly has been in session since Monday, in New Delhi, Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock has clarified that the organisation has a restricted role in arresting any person who is subjected to Red Notice.
He further added that it cannot compel any member country to arrest an individual on the basis of the same.
“A Red Notice is not an international warrant, and Interpol cannot force any member country to arrest an individual who is subject to Red Notice,” said Stock. He explained that the role of the Interpol is to assess if the requests made for a Red Notice are abiding by the organisation’s constitution or not.
However, he also clarified its reasons for not issuing Red Notices against crime related to religion or the military. “We cannot accept a request if, for example, it is political, military, racial or religious in character and/or not in accordance with our Rules on Processing of Data,” said Jurgen.
The clarification comes at a time when India is expected to take up the matter of its most wanted terrorists at the Interpol assembly. These terrorists include Dawood Ibrahim, Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed, who are suspected to be hiding in Pakistan, and are also facing Red Notices.
In the present times, the Interpol states that it cannot force any member nation to arrest those who are wanted in the cases of murders, terrorism and organised crimes, as it is outside their power.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the 90th Interpol General Assembly on Tuesday, which will be attended by all the member countries, including their ministers, police chiefs, national central bureau chiefs, and senior police officers.
The Interpol, or the International Crime Police organisation, is an inter-governmental organisation that comprises 195 member countries who help police forces in better coordination of on-ground action. The organisation enables members to share and access data on crimes and criminals, whilst offering them a range of technical and operational support, as stated by the official website.
Criminals often flee to other countries to evade facing justice, following which a Red Corner Notice or Red Notice alerts police forces across the globe, especially those of the member countries, and the criminals are termed as ‘wanted’ internationally.
Read more: Pakistan Continues To Protect Sajid Mir Despite His Global Terrorist Mark, Says Report
