Interpol findings report, for reading comprehension.

[Bacchus39]

Let me highlight the key findings in lay person’s terms:

INTERPOL's team of forensic experts discovered “no evidence of modification, alteration, addition or deletion” in the user files of any of the three laptop computers, three USB thumb drives and two external hard disks seized during a Colombian anti-narcotics and anti-terrorist operation on a FARC camp on 1 March 2008.

Based on INTERPOL’s careful and comprehensive forensic examination of each of the eight seized FARC computer exhibits and on consideration of all the evidence reviewed by our experts, INTERPOL concludes that there was no tampering with any data on the computer exhibits following their seizure on 1 March 2008 by Colombian authorities.

From INTERPOL’s perspective this finding is central to our work and should be central to the Colombian people. Your police acted professionally, honourably and effectively.

I am currently in my second term as INTERPOL’s Secretary General and, during my tenure, have visited 116 countries and met with their Police Chiefs. So, when I say that the people of Colombia have reason to be proud of the manner in which their police handled the evidence seized from the FARC camp on 1 March 2008, my statement is based on significant experience of police practices around the world.

Let me turn to the other key findings:

INTERPOL confirmed that the Colombian Judicial Police computer forensic experts followed internationally recognized principles in the handling of electronic evidence from the time they received the exhibits on 3 March 2008.

INTERPOL did note, however, that between 1 and 3 March, direct access to the seized computer exhibits by Colombia's first responder anti-terrorist unit in order to view and download their contents did not follow internationally recognized principles in the handling of electronic evidence under ordinary circumstances.

INTERPOL’s experts verified that this direct access and downloading had no effect on the content of any of the user files on the eight seized computer exhibits.

http://www.interpol.int/Public/ICPO/speeches/2008/SGbogota20080516.asp

[bemildred]

1. Ronald Noble

He is a 1979 graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a bachelor's degree in economics and business administration and a 1982 graduate of Stanford Law School. Mr. Noble also is a tenured professor at the New York University School of Law, on leave of absence while serving at Interpol.

From 1993 until 1996 he was the Undersecretary for Enforcement of the United States Department of the Treasury, where he was in charge of the United States Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.<1> He was head of the Department's "Waco Administrative Review Team" which produced a report on the ATF's actions against the Branch Davidians leading to the Waco Siege.<2>

He was elected the first American Secretary General by the 69th Interpol General Assembly in Rhodes, Greece, in 2000, and was unanimously re-elected to a second five-year term by the 74th Interpol General Assembly in Berlin, Germany, in 2005. Interpol is the largest international police organization serving 188 countries with a current budget of $72.2 million for 2008.<3>

During his September 20, 2005 acceptance speech in Berlin, the re-elected Secretary General stated:

Less than one year after my confirmation, Al Qaeda terrorists used US soil and US targets to murder thousands of U.S. citizens and citizens from more than 70 of our member countries spread around the globe. On September 11, 2001, the entire world’s attention was finally drawn to the importance of the anti-terrorism fight. On that day, we as a world community were put on notice by Al Qaeda that our personal and national security could never again be taken for granted. It does not matter where you were. It does not matter what you were doing. Each and every one of you can remember where you were when you first learned about or first saw images of the terrorist attacks on New York’s World Trade Center on the 11th of September 2001. For Interpol, the 11th of September was a moment of reckoning. It was the time for us to decide what kind of international police organization we wanted Interpol to be. Although Interpol had been created over 80 years ago by police chiefs to provide operational police support internationally, something had happened to Interpol over the years. Interpol had become so slow, so unresponsive that in many police circles around the world Interpol was considered irrelevant to their day-to-day needs. But, it was on September 11, 2001 that Interpol went operational and that we committed ourselves to working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to support our NCBs and police services. And it was on that day that we first began reaching out to you in times of crisis, rather than waiting for you to ask for help. One can say that Interpol was reborn on the 11th of September 2001.<4>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Noble

[Judi Lynn]

2. Interpol Notes Improper Initial Handling of FARC Laptops

Interpol Notes Improper Initial Handling of FARC Laptops
By Constanza Vieira

BOGOTÁ, May 15 , 2008 (IPS) - Interpol reported Thursday that the files found on computers that Colombia seized from a FARC guerrilla camp in March were not tampered with and did belong to the rebel group.

But it also said the handling of the laptops and hard drives in the first 48 hours after they were discovered "may complicate validating this evidence for purposes of its introduction in a judicial proceeding".

~snip~
"The actual seizure of the eight computer exhibits occurred between 5:50 a.m. and 7:50 a.m. (local time at the place of seizure, GMT -5:00) on Saturday, 1 March. However, it was not until more than 48 hours later that the eight seized exhibits were given to the computer forensic specialists of the Colombian Judicial Police," the report goes on to say.

"Access to the data contained in the eight FARC computer exhibits between 1 March 2008, when they were seized by Colombian authorities, and 3 March 2008 at 11:45 a.m., when they were turned over to…the Colombian Judicial Police, did not conform to internationally recognised principles for handling electronic evidence by law enforcement.

More:
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42391

[Bacchus39]

3. haha no evidence of tampering or deletions busted!!

we know Chavez lies, the question is what will Colombia do? I suspect they will continue to play nice but we'll see how long that lasts.

[naaman fletcher]

4. it doesn't matter

If they had Chavez on tape admitting to it, the deniers here would say the CIA doctored the tape.

[CJvR]

5. Was there...

...anything embarrassing for Chavez in those files?

[naaman fletcher]

6. I think so...

those who deny their validity so strongly obviously think so, too