Transnational Repression and Interpol: Insights from The Hague

Earlier this month, barristers Ben Keith (5 St Andrew’s Hill Chambers), Rhys Davies and Émilie Pottle (both Temple Garden Chambers) spoke at an event in The Hague to address one of international law’s most pressing crises: how authoritarian regimes weaponise Interpol’s systems and extradition mechanisms.

Drawing on their extensive experience in this field, the lawyers confronted an uncomfortable truth: international cooperation tools have become instruments of repression. The system’s lack of transparency, limited review processes, and absence of public accountability make it ripe for manipulation by authoritarian regimes.

After years representing individuals targeted by cross-border persecution, they’ve witnessed the transformation of legitimate law enforcement tools into vehicles for state repression.

The speakers outlined successful strategies for challenging Red Notices and extradition requests: highlighting procedural irregularities, vague charges, unfair trial risks, human rights violations like torture, and clear political motivation. But even successful Interpol challenges don’t guarantee protection from extradition, particularly when national courts prioritise procedural formalities over political context.

With 70,000 live Red Notices in circulation and more issued annually through increasingly automated systems, Interpol struggles under its own weight. The panel noted that even well-documented human rights concerns are routinely ignored, particularly in cases involving Russia, China, or the UAE. Interpol demands evidentiary specificity that is often impossible to meet, setting standards higher than international human rights courts.

What is particularly troubling is that Red Notices – usually just two or three pages – require no evidence of wrongdoing. Member states need only assert that a crime has been committed. Couched in neutral legal language, these notices obscure underlying political motivations, making it virtually impossible for border authorities or courts to distinguish legitimate law enforcement from state persecution.

The Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF), ostensibly a remedy for abuse, is fundamentally broken. Its opacity undermines Interpol’s legitimacy: decisions rarely exceed a few pages, contain minimal reasoning, and face no appeals process. States routinely withdraw notices before the CCF can rule, avoiding damaging precedents whilst leaving victims without redress.

Interpol’s secrecy extends to basic statistics. When Keith and Davies submitted evidence to the UK Parliament showing disproportionate Red Notice use by countries like Russia, Interpol disputed the numbers but refused to provide corrections or identify the worst offenders.

Interpol operates on a modest €150 million annual budget, with a third from voluntary contributions. This creates obvious vulnerabilities. The UAE – amongst the smallest statutory contributors – voluntarily donates tens of millions, and subsequently saw an Emirati general accused of torture elected as Interpol’s president. Such relationships undermine both the perception and reality of impartiality.

Traditional targets – former politicians and opposition figures – have expanded dramatically. Regimes now pursue family members, business partners, and journalists who expose wrongdoing, often to extract leverage. What appear to be standard white-collar charges frequently mask retaliation or corporate raiding schemes.

Business disputes in jurisdictions requiring foreign investors to partner with local entities spiral into politically-charged criminal allegations. Tax evasion or fraud charges often disguise strategic efforts to punish, expropriate, or silence opponents.

Most concerning is the surge in terrorism allegations, placing dissidents, human rights defenders, asylum seekers, and persecuted minorities like China’s Uyghurs at particular risk.

The panel’s conclusion was sobering: even the best legal strategy has limited impact in a system plagued by opacity and structural imbalance. Interpol’s flaws allow authoritarian governments to disguise repression as routine law enforcement.

Individual victories remain possible, but fundamental problems require systemic reform and greater political will from the democratic states that fund and participate in Interpol’s system.

The panel called for transparency in Interpol’s operations, stronger oversight mechanisms, and differentiated treatment of requests based on states’ human rights records. Interpol must distinguish between states based on their rule-of-law credentials rather than treating all members equally on paper.

Without these changes, the international community risks complicity as states transform legitimate law enforcement tools into instruments of repression.

For practitioners, the message was unambiguous: vigilance and collaboration are essential, not just in courtrooms but in demanding systemic change. For targeted individuals, the consequences can be life-altering. For the international legal system, every unchecked abuse damages its integrity.

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