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.
With close to 3,500 red notices in circulation, Tajikistan is among the three countries sending the highest number of wanted requests to Interpol. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, the Tajik dictatorship has been using the police organisation to hunt down political opponents and Muslim citizens with no links to armed organisations. Although its rules have been repeatedly violated, Interpol has not taken action.
For a decade, Turkey has relied on the criminal police organisation to hunt down political opponents and journalists in exile, Disclose can reveal. Faced with the scale of the scheme, the international agency imposed reinforced controls on Ankara in 2021, before reversing course.
Russia is using all the tools offered by Interpol to track down opponents, journalists and activists in exile, reveal Disclose and the BBC, based on a leak of internal data from the organization. While increased controls were put in place after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the abuses have never stopped. According to our information, Interpol recently eased the surveillance measures imposed on Moscow.
The mission of the prestigious criminal police institution, to fight organised crime, is being misused on a large scale for the benefit of some of the world’s most repressive states, Disclose and the BBC can reveal after thousands of internal Interpol documents were leaked. We expose abuse including persecution, secret manhunts and arbitrary arrests, part of a system where Interpol’s red notices have become a powerful weapon for countries like Russia, Turkey and Tajikistan.
