Defying Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday Interpol elected acting head South Korean Kim Jong Yang president of the organization over Russian candidate Alexander Prokopchuk, a former Russian Interior Ministry official. After his election to what is largely a ceremonial position, Kim stated, “Our world is now facing unprecedented changes which present huge challenges to public security and safety. To overcome them, we need a clear vision: we need to build a bridge to the future.”
Scuttlebutt had projected Prokopchuk to be the winner, but those opposed to the idea said Russia had utilized Interpol’s systems to target and pursue its supposed enemies. As Interpol’s Moscow bureau chief, Prokopchuk had been accused of abusing the red notice system to target enemies of Putin. He has been serving as one of Interpol’s four vice-presidents.
Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators released a letter condemning the idea of electing Prokopchuk, asserting, “We continue to call on our administration to use its voice, vote and influence to ensure that Interpol can no longer be co-opted by Putin and other dictators for their own nefarious purposes.”
The letter stated:
Interpol electing Major General Alexander Prokopchuk as its new President is akin to putting a fox in charge of a henhouse. Russia routinely abuses Interpol for the purpose of settling scores and harassing political opponents, dissidents and journalists. Alexander Prokopchuk has been personally involved in this intimidation strategy which ultimately seeks to weaken democratic institutions and embolden Putin’s authoritarian regime. If elected as President by the members of Interpol’s General Assembly on Wednesday, we have no doubt that Mr. Prokopchuk will further institutionalize the abuse of Interpol red notices and block ongoing efforts at meaningful reform.
Further, the potential access he would gain to sensitive law enforcement data will bolster the Kremlin’s ability to harass critics living outside of Russia and aid other authoritarian regimes seeking to do the same. For these reasons, we urge all 192 members to stand for the integrity of Interpol as a legitimate international law enforcement mechanism and vote against Mr. Prokopchuk. We continue to call on our administration to use its voice, vote and influence to ensure that Interpol can no longer be co-opted by Putin and other dictators for their own nefarious purposes.
After Russia’s defeat, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated: “It’s a pity, of course, that our candidate did not win, but on the other hand, if you look at a number of statements from a number of countries on the eve of the elections impartially, then, of course, the pressure was strong, it’s obvious.”
Kim will serve until 2020. Interpol’s former president, Meng Hongwei, visited China in late September and went missing. The Chinese government authorities announced Meng was being held and investigated for alleged corruption. Interpol’s Secretary General Jürgen Stock wrote that Interpol had asked China for “clarification,” adding, “Interpol’s General Secretariat looks forward to an official response from China’s authorities to address concerns over the President’s well-being. The very next day Interpol confirmed Meng had resigned.