Interpol, surveillance and abductions
The guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.
Draft What human rights defenders advise
Interpol, surveillance and abductions
- Most Interpol Red Notices are not public. A full request about yourself and a complaint go to the Commission for the Control of Files (CCF). See 'Am I on a list?'.
- Interpol's Constitution (art. 3) bars political cases. According to Interpol's internal data, about half of Russian files reviewed by the CCF did not comply with its rules.
- CIS-channel searches bypass Interpol's filters. Abductions are known in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia and Uzbekistan: people were lured to meetings or seized near bases.
- Rights groups advise not agreeing to 'business' meetings and keeping threats as evidence for the police and a lawyer. Let one trusted person outside Russia know your route. Don't give details to family in Russia: they may be questioned.
- Digital security: the Access Now helpline (24/7, Russian spoken) and First Department guides.
current as of 25 September 2026. More: Interpol: CCF; Meduza: abductions in neighbouring countries (undesirable); OVD-Info: transnational repression (extremist)