Interpol criticised over attempt to arrest Asian separatist leader

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

An Interpol red notice has been issued for the arrest of the Oxford-based leader of an Asian separatist movement, triggering allegations of political abuse of the international police alert system.

Benny Wenda, 37, who has been granted asylum and has lived in the UK since 2003, fears that if he travels abroad he could be detained and returned to Indonesia, where he is a wanted man.

Wenda, head of the Free West Papua movement, claims the charges against him have been trumped up in order to silence him. Fair Trials International is supporting him and calling for greater accountability of the police notice system which, it claims, has become "a legal black hole".

It is not the first time, according to the civil liberties group, that an Interpol red notice has been issued for the arrest of a political opponent or deployed to prevent someone from travelling.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/25/interpol-attempt-arrest-asian-separatist