{"id":5126,"date":"2026-01-27T08:32:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T08:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=5126"},"modified":"2026-01-27T08:32:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T08:32:05","slug":"how-russia-used-interpols-most-wanted-list-to-target-putins-critics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/badvibes.live\/?p=5126","title":{"rendered":"How Russia used Interpol\u2019s most wanted list to target Putin\u2019s critics"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Interpol has overturned many of Russia\u2019s arrest requests \u2013 but the fear remains for many critics (Picture: Rex\/Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Russia<\/a>\u00a0has been using Interpol to target those who speak out against\u00a0Vladimir Putin<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0government<\/a>\u00a0abroad, newly leaked files have revealed.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0BBC<\/a>\u00a0has reported that Russia is weaponising Interpol\u2019s wanted lists to arrest political opponents, businessmen and journalists who they say have committed \u2018crimes\u2019.<\/p>\n

Interpol said it is aware of the impact arrest requests can have on individuals, and that it has overturned many requests for red notices -a request to law enforcement worldwide\u00a0to locate a person \u2013 from Moscow due to fears of targeting.<\/p>\n

Russian expert Keir Giles, from Chatham House, told BadVibes Magazine the leak from Interpol shows a \u2018classic example\u2019 of how malign actors can exploit systems based on trust.<\/p>\n

\u2018The way in which Russia can use these systems to target its critics abroad highlights the problems that open societies face in withstanding the kind of pernicious threat that Russia presents,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018If a tool is available for Russia to use to target those it wishes to silence or punish, they will use it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s influence stretches into the West<\/h2>\n
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Giles said Russia will use a tool to target people if provided one (Picture: CNN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Giles said it\u2019s not a surprise that Western police forces see Interpol requests as legitimate \u2013 he says this is because many haven\u2019t realised that bad actors can use the Interpol system for malign reasons.<\/p>\n

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But for others, the fear of being targeted by Russia even while in the West is tangible.<\/p>\n

Sir Bill Browder, a former investor in Russia, who has since turned into one of the Kremlin\u2019s fiercest critics, was arrested by Interpol in 2018 while travelling in\u00a0Spain<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 on the orders of Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n

He told\u00a0Metro:\u00a0<\/strong>\u2018Ever since the Magnitsky Act was passed in 2012, Putin has been chasing me around the world trying to have me arrested and brought back to Russia so I can be tortured in prison and killed.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Magnitsky Act, named after Bill\u2019s former lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, who was murdered by Kremlin operatives while uncovering fraud in the Russian government, works to sanction corrupt officials who commit human rights abuses.<\/p>\n

Bill, who spearheaded the campaign for his late lawyer, is wanted by the Kremlin because he helped uncover massive Russian corruption.<\/p>\n

The Kremlin claims his charges are \u2018tax evasion\u2019 \u2013 but the true target is because Bill has continued to fight against the Kremlin\u2019s corruption and murder of his lawyer, Magnitsky.<\/p>\n

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Sir Bill Browder has been outspoken against Putin since working in Russia more than two decades ago (Picture: Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sir Bill\u2019s first Interpol notice was issued in May 2013, months after he was able to get the Magnitsky Act passed.<\/p>\n

Despite Interpol rejecting the notice, the Russians kept reapplying until he was eventually detained in\u00a0Madrid<\/a>\u00a0and Geneva in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u2018If Russia is so ready to abuse Interpol, there needs to be some type of restrictions, constraints, or sanctions imposed on them so they don\u2019t do it anymore,\u2019 he told\u00a0Metro<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u2018They continue to be the most active abusers of Interpol, and neither Interpol nor any other member states do anything about it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Bill suggested that Interpol has failed in its mission if it\u2019s been used by Russia to target so many opponents of the Kremlin.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s not fit for purpose and needs to be reformed properly. They continue to use bureaucratic language to justify themselves, but in fact, it\u2019s a disgrace how they are used by the Russian mafia regime to chase their victims,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

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Interpol\u2019s red notice allows member countries to detain criminals across the globe (Picture: Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Bill, even eight years after his two arrests, Russia\u2019s weaponisation of Interpol is still at the forefront of his mind.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s had to limit his travel to countries which won\u2019t honour Interpol notices from Russia for his own safety.<\/p>\n

Despite this, he added, \u2018My situation is lucky because I\u2019m well-known. I have good lawyers and significant resources to fight back.<\/p>\n

\u2018But there are journalists, NGO activists, and others who don\u2019t have those benefits, and whose lives are totally ruined by this abuse of Interpol.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interpol has overturned many of Russia\u2019s arrest requests \u2013 but the fear remains for many critics (Picture: Rex\/Getty) Russia\u00a0has been using Interpol to target those who speak out against\u00a0Vladimir Putin\u00a0and the\u00a0government\u00a0abroad, newly leaked files have revealed. The\u00a0BBC\u00a0has reported that Russia is weaponising Interpol\u2019s wanted lists to arrest political opponents, businessmen and journalists who they say […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t