Possible Russian president of Interpol raises alarm

LONDON -- Interpol is facing a pivotal -- some say possibly fatal -- moment in its history as members decide whether to hand its presidency to a man who represents Vladimir Putin's Russia.

Kremlin critics fear they could soon face arrest wherever they go. Western governments worry Russia could use the post to undermine the rule of law.

Interpol, which elects a new president today, has weathered many challenges in its 95 years. While Hollywood has portrayed it as a hive of swashbuckling agents, in reality it's an organization sometimes tangled in red tape and clashing geopolitical interests. Nazis took it over in the 1930s, and authoritarian governments have long tried to use it to hunt down fugitive dissenters.

But the latest storm of criticism comes at an exceptional time -- just as Russia is trying to expand its global clout and as some powerful countries are questioning whether they need multilateral organizations such as Interpol at all.

Interpol's general assembly is choosing the agency's new president at a meeting in Dubai where the front-runner is Alexander Prokopchuk, a general in Russia's Interior Ministry who is currently an Interpol vice president. Interpol's interim president, South Korea's Kim Jong Yang, is also seeking the post.

Two prominent Kremlin critics warned Tuesday electing a high-placed Russian would undermine the international law enforcement agency and politicize police cooperation across borders.

Bill Browder, who runs an investment fund once operating in Moscow, and oligarch-turned-dissident Mikhail Khodorkovsky told reporters Putin has tried to use Interpol to hunt down critics such as themselves. Having a Russian lead the agency could intensify such efforts to silence dissent, they said.

Activists argue the organization needs to increase recent efforts at muscular reform, and this won't happen if Prokopchuk becomes president, because of his ties to Putin.

"It was his government that organized a terrorist attack in the U.K. using chemical weapons in Salisbury. It was his government that shot down MH17, killing 298 innocent individuals. It was his government that cheated and hacked in elections in the United States and Europe," Browder said of Putin. "To put his representative in charge of the most important international crime-fighting organization is like putting the mafia in charge."

To Moscow, the complaints are all part of a Western-led campaign to weaken a resurgent Russia.

Russia denies accusations of foreign interference and announced new charges against Browder this week in a long-running legal battle against him. Russian Interior Ministry spokesman Irina Volk accused critics Tuesday of running a "campaign to discredit" Prokopchuk, calling him a respected professional.

Browder has pressed for sanctions against Russian officials charged with human rights abuses after his former lawyer died in custody.

Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon, spent a decade in prison after exhibiting political ambitions. Both said their notoriety would make them poor targets for abuse, adding they were motivated to speak out because many other less-well-known campaigners would be silenced if governments are allowed to export repression.

The White House came out Tuesday against the election of Prokopchuk, with National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis saying "the Russian government abuses Interpol's processes to harass its political opponents." He said the U.S. "strongly endorses" Kim.

Added U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: "We encourage all nations and organizations that are part of Interpol and that respect the rule of law to choose a leader with credibility and integrity that reflects one of the world's most critical law enforcement bodies. We believe Mr. Kim will be just that."

Interpol's general assembly is made up of its 192 member states, each of which has an equal vote.

Based in the French city of Lyon, Interpol is best known for issuing "red notices" identifying a suspect pursued by another country, effectively putting them on the world's "most-wanted" list.

Critics argue countries such as Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran and China have used the system to try to round up political opponents, journalists or activists.

The watchdog group Fair Trials International detailed in a report last month the strides Interpol has made in reducing political abuse of red notices. The group's chief, Jago Russell, said a Russian official as Interpol president could stall or reverse those reforms.

"We're at a pivotal moment for Interpol," he told The Associated Press.

"Either countries back away from it and find other ways to cooperate, or Interpol fixes its system so that it can be trusted. ... Already there are noises about pulling out of Interpol" and creating a separate agency just for democratic countries, he said.

The U.S. seems committed to Interpol for now, but has pulled out of UNESCO and international accords under President Donald Trump. Britain is pulling out of the European Union and has expressed concern about management of international bodies funded by taxpayers.

Interpol itself won't comment on the upcoming vote. The Interpol presidency is more of an oversight position, compared with the hands-on leadership role of the secretary-general.