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Ukraine has demanded that Russia be expelled from the International Police Criminal Organization, commonly known as Interpol, accusing it of abusing the organisation and using it to target political opponents worldwide and in Ukraine, the Guardian’s Ruth Michaelson writes.

The Ukrainian minister of internal affairs, Denis Monastyrsky, demanded Russia’s immediate expulsion. “Russia should be expelled from Interpol for violating its basic principles and massive misuse of tools and services to cover up its crimes and persecute political enemies, particularly in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian broadcasting organisation Hromadske reported. The Guardian has approached Interpol for comment.

Interpol is a supranational police force focused on information-sharing among its 195 member states, primarily through its “red notice” system intended to alert member nations about the cross-border movement of criminals.

In recent years it has increasingly drawn criticism for abuse of the red notice system by oppressive regimes including Russia, with anti-democratic nations using it to flag political dissidents in exile or escaping abuse rather than those proven to commit crimes.

The former US ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul said that Russia should be expelled from Interpol in 2018, when critics warned that doing so risked turning it into a haven for criminals.

It is unclear how the process to expel a member state from Interpol’s general secretariat could work, or whether a similar action has ever been taken before.

Currently North Korea is the only large country that is a member of the United Nations but not part of Interpol. Taiwan has long campaigned to be readmitted to Interpol, after it was forced to withdraw when China became a member in 1984.

“There’s process in having Russia suspended from Interpol, but throwing them out to me seems unlikely,” said Ben Keith, a barrister specialising in Interpol and extradition at International Human Rights Advisors.

“We don’t know how or why Syria were suspended and then allowed back in again. It’s like trying to throw Russia out of the United Nations, it’s just not realistic,” he said. Syria was quietly readmitted to Interpol in October last year.

Home secretary Priti Patel told parliament today that “the Ukrainian government has today requested that the Russian government be suspended from its membership of Interpol and we will be leading all international efforts to that effect.”



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