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.
The French Justice Ministry has called for our 2021 investigation into France’s complicity in crimes committed by the Egyptian dictatorship to be “unpublished”. The investigatory chamber is expected to rule on 8 July whether the director of public prosecution should reopen the judicial inquiry which acknowledged that our revelations were in the public interest and exonerated reporter Ariane Lavrilleux, who finds herself yet again in the crosshairs of the French state.
One week after a ceasefire was signed by Israel and Hamas, Disclose can reveal that a consignment of equipment made by French company Sermat is to be shipped to Israel on 20 October. The parts are for drones designed by Elbit Systems, one of the Israeli armed forces’ main suppliers. This is the fourth such contract uncovered by Disclose between a French company and an Israeli military industry player since the war started in Gaza.
