In practice, some Red Notice and diffusion requests submitted by Türkiye to INTERPOL may often be based not on a genuine criminal allegation, but on assessments linked to political opinion, belief or affiliation. Particularly in the context of investigations conducted after 15 July 2016, international search requests have been issued against many individuals on charges such as “membership of a terrorist organisation” or “aiding an organisation.” However, in a significant number of these requests, the grounds relied upon were not concrete evidence of criminal conduct, but rather the person’s connection with a particular institution, membership of a lawful association, or activities falling within the scope of freedom of expression. This amounts to a violation of the principle of political neutrality set out in Article 3 of INTERPOL’s Constitution.

The international consequences of such requests can be extremely serious. Individuals subject to a Red Notice or diffusion may face severe restrictions on their freedom of travel and may be at risk of being held at border crossings, detained, or subjected to extradition proceedings. In addition, the presence of such records in INTERPOL databases may create negative perceptions in visa applications, residence permit procedures and international protection processes. In some cases, these data may also be reflected in countries’ financial monitoring systems, including AML/KYC processes, causing individuals to be flagged as “high-risk persons” in relation to bank accounts, insurance transactions or professional licence applications.

A significant number of Türkiye-originating notices have been found unlawful or political in nature and deleted following applications before the CCF. In addition, INTERPOL has refused to publish some Red Notice requests submitted by Türkiye on terrorism-related grounds because they were considered political in nature.

In these applications, the Commission has generally relied on grounds such as violations of the right to a fair trial, lack of evidence, political motivation, and protection status, for example being an asylum seeker or refugee. Therefore, the problem is not merely individual but systemic. The instrumentalisation of domestic judicial processes through international mechanisms damages INTERPOL’s principles of neutrality and reliability, while also affecting victims’ rights to reputation, liberty and economic activity in the long term.

For this reason, it has become necessary under international law for both the INTERPOL General Secretariat and the CCF to conduct a more rigorous human rights review when examining notices originating from Türkiye.