Credit: Interpol.int / The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) based in Lyon, France 

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC TIMES

In 2001,  INTERPOL issued a Red Notice at the request of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for  fugitive Félicien Kabuga who was arrested by French police Saturday.  The 84-year-old was one of the most wanted suspects in the Rwandan holocaust.  The ICTR indicted  Kabuga on seven counts including genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, persecution and extermination.  Kabuga was on the run for 25 years living under an assumed name in France until  his arrest this weekend.

Credit: U.S. Department of State /   French police arrested  Rwanda Genocide fugitive,  Félicien Kabuga, Saturday near Paris. The U.S. had a $5 Million bounty  for the  arrest of Kabunga. 

INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock praised the arrest as important step in bringing justice for victims and survivors of the Rwandan genocide

Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL’s Secretary General. 

“Kabuga’s arrest demonstrates the power and effectiveness of international cooperation between police worldwide in identifying, locating and apprehending fugitives around the world. In 2014, on the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, the theme of the International Expert Meeting on Genocide organized in Kigali by our fugitives unit was ‘closing the impunity gap’. Today is an important step in achieving this”.

-INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock

Kabuga was also one of the men targeted by INTERPOL’s Rwandan Genocide Fugitives Project, run by its Fugitive Investigative Support unit.

One of the main tools for tracking fugitives is the INTERPOL Red Notice, which is an alert to all countries to request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition.

Criminals can flee to another country to try to evade justice.  A Red Notice alerts police worldwide about internationally wanted fugitives.  A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. Red Notices are published by INTERPOL at the request of a member country, and must comply with INTERPOL’s Constitution and Rules. A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant.

The International Criminal Police Organisation, more commonly known as INTERPOL, is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control, based in LYON,  France.   INTERPOL has seven regional bureaus worldwide and a National Central Bureau in all 194 members states, making it the world’s largest police organization.