When the international police is used to track down political opponents.
The prestigious international police organization, based in Lyon, France, brings together 196 countries to fight terrorism and organized crime. In practice, it allows authoritarian regimes to track down opponents, journalists or activists in exile across the world, reveals Disclose, in partnership with British public television BBC.
Our investigation is based on an unprecedented data leak in the history of Interpol. Confidential reports, correspondence between national offices, tables of search notices in circulation… These thousands of documents reveal a system which transforms a renowned police force into a weapon of political oppression.
The first two parts are accessible in English and French.
Arms giant Thales, in which the French state is a shareholder, has sold to the Burmese forces six radars used for monitoring its coast, Disclose and Info Birmanie can reveal. The surveillance systems, which were delivered between 2017 and 2020 in spite of an EU embargo, may be used to crack down on civilians, including the Muslim Rohingya minority who have been persecuted by the ruling junta.
A vast corruption network made it possible to exploit Interpol’s shortcomings in order to remove red notices against at least 28 alleged criminals. The former chairperson of Interpol’s oversight body – the Commission for the Control of Files (CCF) – and the organisation’s bureau in Moldova were at the heart of the system. Despite warnings, it has taken years for Interpol to respond, Disclose can reveal on the basis of exclusive documents.
