INTERPOL'S LACK OF PURPOSE AND EXTRADITION ISSUES

Article 82 of the RPD provides “Red Notices are published […] to seek the location of a wanted person and his/his detention, arrest or restriction of movement for extradition, surrender or similar lawful action”.

According to Articles 10(1) and 12(1) of the RPD, the processing of data in INTERPOL’s files may only be carried out for a given, explicit purpose.

Pursuant to Article 84(2) of the RPD the requesting National Central Bureau that has asked for the publication of a Red Notice “shall ensure […] that extradition will be sought upon arrest of the person, in conformity with national laws and/or the applicable bilateral and multilateral treaties.”

Article 87(b) unequivacally mandates that “The requesting National Central Bureau shall act immediately once it has been informed that the person has been located in another country and, in particular, shall ensure the swift transmission – within the time limits defined for the case in question – of data and supporting documents requested by the country where the person was located or by the General Secretariat.”

Article 31 of INTERPOL’s Constitution binds the members of the Organization “In order to further its aims, […] the constant and active co-operation…”

Everyone knows that the Commission is mandated by Article 36 of INTERPOL's Constitution and Articles 3(1)(a) and 33(3) of the Statute of the Commission to ensure that all data processing complies with INTERPOL's legal requirements. So, when the Red Notice no longer serves any legitimate purpose of international police cooperation, it warrants the deletion. Otherwise, it turns into a tool of oppression, infringing fundamental human rights.

At the heart of this argument lies an unassailable grounds prescribed in binding U.S. federal regulations, and official U.S. Department of State protocols, all of which demonstrate that the in case your client, subject of Red Notice, was arrested or detained under any circumstances (by immigration authorities, for example) in the U.S., the U.S. officials must promptly inform a requesting country of the subject's location under the grounds below:

U.S. federal regulations, codified at 8 C.F.R. § 236.1(e), unequivocally require that "[e]very detained alien shall be notified that he or she may communicate with the consular or diplomatic officers of the country of his or her nationality in the United States. Existing treaties with the following countries require immediate communication with appropriate consular or diplomatic officers whenever nationals of the following countries are detained in removal proceedings, whether or not requested by the alien and even if the alien requests that no communication be undertaken in his or her behalf." The list of the Countries incorporated in the regulations is long enough. This regulation imposes an absolute duty to notify the officials from requesting country in cases of arrest or detention.

This obligation is consonant with the U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), specifically 7 FAM 1631.5, which addresses "Notification of Provisional Arrest" in extradition contexts. Pursuant to this protocol, when a fugitive is provisionally arrested in the United States in response to a foreign request – such as one underlying a Red Notice – the Office of International Affairs (OIA) within the U.S. Department of Justice "immediately notifies the foreign government, informally by telephone to the Justice Ministry of the requesting country, with a reminder of the deadline for submission of the formal extradition request with supporting documents." The FAM's reference to OIA's role underscores the streamlined, mandatory process for alerting requesting states upon locating and detaining a wanted individual.

So if the subject of INTERPOL Red Notice is located and detained or released after detention in the United States the notification is mandatory. In this case, if the requesting country has exerted zero effort to initiate extradition process or otherwise secure subject's return - it constitutes INTERPOL's lack of purpose because it is a deliberate abdication to act as required the RPD of the Organization and it strips the Red Notice of any conceivable purpose under Article 82 of the RPD, which stipulates that Red Notices are published "to seek the location of a wanted person and his/her detention, arrest or restriction of movement for the purpose of extradition, surrender or similar lawful action."