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This blog addresses how authoritarian regimes are systematically targeting journalists and human rights defenders in the UK through legal harassment, physical threats, and coordinated repression.
This article was first published in WealthBriefing on 25 September 2025.
Authoritarian regimes abuse Interpol Red Notices to target political opponents – The UK’s immigration system mistakenly treats these notices as evidence of criminality, leading to wrongful visa refusals and asylum denials for those fleeing persecution.
El Salvador maintains more than 800 active Red Notices – an unprecedented use of Interpol’s system as an extension of its domestic state of emergency.
Tinder Swindler Simon Leviev arrested in Georgia on Interpol Red Notice after years evading justice. The case raises fresh questions about the effectiveness of the Red Notice system
India issues its first Interpol Purple Notice on trade-based money laundering. What it means for businesses, compliance, and global policing.
As Red Notices hit a record high in 2024, a surge in rejections and post-publication removals reveals deepening concerns over political misuse and systemic flaws within Interpol’s compliance mechanisms.
UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights publishes report on transnational repression on 30 July 2025.
According to its Justice Minister, Türkiye submitted 3,579 red notice requests to Interpol targeting alleged members of the Gülen Movement
Another controversial moment in international policing
Seminar and Reception: 10th July 2025
Vitalie Pîrlog, former chair of Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Files, has been arrested in the UAE at the request of French authorities in connection with a corruption investigation.
The G7’s June 2025 statement condemns transnational repression targeting dissidents abroad.
Interpol’s CCF review proceedings under Article 42 are not appeals, but offer a vital yet challenging legal remedy
Ben Keith’s and Rhys Davies’ latest piece in The Economist on how to address systemic abuse by authoritarian states
Ben Keith comments in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on how Chinese authorities allegedly misused Interpol to pursue political and financial targets abroad — including one of the world’s richest men.