Poland urges Interpol to introduce additional verification of warrants from Belarus and Russia
In November, the Secretary-General of Interpol will arrive in Poland to discuss the prevention of the use of the so-called Interpol “red cards” by Belarus and Russia to prosecute political opponents of the authorities, reports the Polish portal TVN24.
The reason for the discussion was the detention of 27-year-old Belarusian Makar Malakhouski in the evening on September 12 near Piaseczno. He was arrested at the request, which the Belarusian police had submitted to Interpol. The young man was internationally wanted on a so-called “red card.”
The Police Headquarters and the Polish Ministry of the Interior understand that Belarus and Russia abuse international lists of persons in search – red cards, TVN24 claims, citing its sources in the said agencies.
“We’ve been trying for months to influence Interpol headquarters to treat the red cards from Belarus and Russia with great caution, to connect verification. Obviously, these two countries abuse the system,” the Polish portal reports the words of the police spokesman.
The issue was also pointed out by Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski, who tweeted that Malakhouski’s detention resulted from another attempt to use the Interpol red cards politically.
In July, Mariusz Kaminski had already appealed to Interpol about the need for changes in the system for handling international warrants.
“I would like to draw attention to the need to verify the data provided by some countries, especially the Russian Federation, which uses Interpol to persecute and extradite political opponents,” Kaminski wrote in a letter to Interpol’s head Kim Jong Yang.
In November, Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock will fly to Poland. And at the end of that month, the head of the Polish police Jaroslaw Szymczyk will speak at a general meeting of Interpol in Istanbul.
Makar Malakhouski was detained in an apartment in Piaseczno. The Belarusian, who was repressed in his homeland, has been living in Poland on a humanitarian visa since November 2020.
Malakhouski was detained after receiving a letter from the Belarusian prosecutor’s office. Closer to the evening of September 13, it emerged that Makar Malakhouski had been released from the Polish prosecutor’s office. Now he is free.
