A. Bilotaitė: Russia and Belarus cannot use Interpol for political purposes

“Interpol must do everything to prevent non-democratic states such as Russia or Belarus from using membership to achieve their political goals. The international community cannot tolerate abuse of the Interpol channel, persecuting citizens of both their own and other countries for political purposes,” the minister was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Ministry of the Interior on Wednesday.

She spoke this way while attending the 91st Interpol General Assembly in Vienna, where she met with the organization’s Secretary General Jurgen Stock and discussed the persecution of judges, prosecutors and other officials in the January 13 case.

Russia filed criminal charges against several Lithuanian judges and took steps to international search for them. These actions are related to the case of January 13 and the events of 1991 in Lithuania, during which 14 civilians were killed and more than 800 were injured. Lithuania, for its part, has condemned the use of international legal instruments for politically motivated persecutions and is asking for support in this matter.

The Minister also presented Lithuania’s position on the proposals of Russia and Belarus to the General Assembly.

“We notice that Russia and Belarus are always looking for ways to impose their political will. This General Assembly is no exception and this is well illustrated by the draft resolutions proposed by these countries. We must ensure that no proposals of this kind are accepted”, said A. Bilotaitė.

According to the ministry, in the Russian draft resolution on the amendment of the Interpol Constitution, it is proposed to provide that Interpol members can only terminate their membership in the organization themselves.

According to A. Bilotaitė, Russia’s proposal contradicts the resolution proposed by Ukraine, adopted last year in the General Assembly. She added that she believes that Russia is completely ignoring the working group’s discussions on the possibility of stopping member states that abuse their membership.

At that time, Belarus’s proposal, arguing that verification deadlines are too long, aims to oblige Interpol to publish Interpol search notices after a certain time, despite the fact that they have not yet been verified.

According to the Minister, such an announcement would allow us to exploit bilateral relations to act on the basis of unverified reports.

Earlier this month, she sent a letter to the ministers of interior affairs of the European Union and the Schengen associated countries regarding the draft resolutions submitted by Russia and Belarus.

The Secretary General of Interpol was also informed about Lithuania’s readiness to delegate a representative of the Lithuanian police to the General Secretariat of Interpol.

The 91st Interpol General Assembly takes place in Vienna in 2023. from November 28 to December 1, it will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Interpol.

In it, law enforcement politicians and officials discussed existing and emerging public security threats, including the significant growth of international organized crime. Issues of the use of new technologies in law enforcement, prevention of distribution of child sexual abuse material, and strengthening of cooperation were also discussed.