Sunday, May 31, 2009
Gulf News
Dubai: A Red Notice is still being published by the Interpol General Secretariat against a man who was arrested and is currently under trial in Dubai.
The Afghan national, Mohammad Akbar Mohammad Riza, wanted for fraud in Dubai, was arrested in Syria and extradited to Dubai.
He is being detained at Al Rifa'a police station, but still has a Red Notice published on the Interpol website against him.
In response to a Gulf News enquiry to the Interpol General Secretariat, the Interpol press office said a Red Notice is published by the Interpol General Secretariat at the request of a member country and remains in existence until the extradition of the individual or when the member country requests its removal.
The accused man's lawyer Ahmad Galadari told Gulf News a Red Notice was published on the Interpol website against Riza because he was wanted by Dubai Police in more than 20 cases which involve bounced cheques and other related cases.
"The name should be removed. It could be a human mistake of not updating the information on the Interpol website," Galadari said.
He said there are many charges against Riza and he is under trial at the court.
"The last court hearing was on 26 of the month but it is postponed until next month," the lawyer said. "We will check with police about the issue," he said. The lawyer added the accused is wanted in Iran too.
An official from the Dubai Police Interpol department said the issue will be investigated.
"We are checking why his name is still on the Interpol website," he said. The official said it could be just a human mistake of not updating the information of the wanted people here.
The accused said he was extradited from Syria to Dubai in 2005.
"I used to live in Dubai for more than 10 years and I had [a] business here. I left to [the] UK then went back to Syria where I was arrested for [a] couple of months before being sent to Dubai upon [a] Red Notice against me," he said.
"I went to court. I am facing 23 fraud accusations. I was declared innocent by the court in each case. There is another case against me," he said.
He said his lawyer is following up the case with Interpol to find out why his name is still posted on its website despite his arrest.
The Interpol press office in France had advised Gulf News that - because the Red Notice against this man was published at the request of the UAE - the newspaper should contact the national authorities in the UAE.
Definition:What is a red notice?
Red Notices are one of the ways in which Interpol informs its 187 member countries that an arrest warrant has been issued for an individual by a judicial authority.
It is not an international arrest warrant. The individuals concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions (or International Criminal Tribunals, where appropriate) and Interpol's role is to assist national police forces in identifying or locating those individuals with a view to their arrest and extradition.
Red Notices are issued to Interpol member countries only if the requesting National Central Bureau (NCB) has provided all the information required by the General Secretariat, including details of a valid arrest warrant for the country in question. Interpol's General Secretariat does not send officers to arrest individuals who are the subject of a Red Notice.
Many of Interpol's member countries however, consider a Red Notice a valid request for provisional arrest, especially if they are linked to the requesting country via a bilateral extradition treaty.
In cases where arrests are made based on a Red Notice, these are made by national police officials in Interpol member countries. Interpol cannot demand that any member country arrests the subject of a Red Notice.
Gulf News 2009. All rights reserved.
