An Interpol Red Notice usually represents an enormous emotional burden and a considerable legal challenge for the person concerned. In such cases, highly specialised legal support is needed that always keeps in mind the specifics of this situation and the parties involved. In order to obtain the deletion of such an extradition request, profound knowledge in the field of international mutual legal assistance is required as well as a deep understanding of the functioning of Interpol.
The German law firm Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte is in demand worldwide as a legal partner for the defence and prevention of extradition proceedings and Interpol activities.
With an outstanding track record, we represent business clients, companies and the sensitive group of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) against threatened or already initiated extradition proceedings and Interpol Notices.
Request for Information: Interpol Red Notices
Interpol allows its member states to enter a Red Notice request worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest an individual with a view to extradition into national police databases. The offence concerned should be a severe ordinary-law crime and, therefore, cannot be issued for trivial offences.
The General Secretariat of Interpol then issues the Interpol Red Notice at the member country’s request. It is issued by the General Secretariat of Interpol at the request of a member country based on a valid national arrest warrant and is not an international arrest warrant.
This can be an avenue for abuse of the function, as Interpol does not conduct a comprehensive analysis of the requests at this stage. Therefore, having an Interpol Red Notice issued against you dramatically reduces your freedoms and is a significant cause for concern.
It can be a challenge to determine whether you are, in fact, the subject of an Interpol Red Notice, as not all of them are made public. An individual may be placed on the Interpol Red Notice list without realising it, leading to difficult situations such as being arrested at an airport. If you suspect that you may be subject to an Interpol notice, contact our extradition lawyers directly, as they will then submit a request for Interpol information on your behalf.
The request for information must be submitted in English, French, Arabic or Spanish, and the admissibility of the information request will be examined. Once we have presented the proposal, the Commission for the Control of Files (CCF) will check whether there is an entry against you in the Interpol Information System (IIS). Should there be an entry against you, the CCF will check whether this entry should be corrected or deleted. If the CCF decides to update or delete the entry, it will contact the General Secretariat (IPSG).
Ensuring that the request for information follows the stated requirements is vital for success. Our experienced extradition lawyers have submitted such information requests and can be relied upon to submit them correctly.
Interpol Red Notice Removal
Interpol Red Notices should not be issued for purely political, racial or religious reasons. Should suspicion exist that the Red Notice has been given on such grounds, it is vital to challenge it. States have tried to abuse the Red Notice, and they should be challenged where political reasons are the true reason for its issuance.
Furthermore, as a democratic organisation, Interpol is subject to strict rules within its own Interpol Constitution and Interpol’s Rules on the Processing of Data concerning the issuing of Interpol Red Notices. Per these documents, there needs to be clarity in the allegations of criminal activity, and contradictions within such allegations must be challenged.
Those seeking the Interpol Red Notice need to provide data concerning the reason for the notice. Such data should include a defined set of identifiers of the person concerned and judicial data such as comprising a summary of facts of the case, the charge(s), the law(s) covering the offence(s), penalties or sentence involved, and reference to a valid arrest warrant or judicial decision.
Although Interpol does not decide the case, they must establish that the alleged offence in question is suitable for a Red Notice.
With our deep knowledge of the requirements of Interpol Red Notices, we will work alongside you to have it deleted. If an Interpol Red Notice is not compliant with the regulations, it will be removed, and our lawyers will know the avenues to pursue such cases.
As your attorney, we will thoroughly examine the data submitted by the alleging party. Inconsistencies and lack of clarity in the data are often substantial grounds to challenge the order. Inability to provide the minimum data sought by Interpol is often an avenue of success when seeking Interpol Red Notice deletion.
Investigating and Amending False Positives and Incomplete Interpol Red Notice Deletion
It is not unusual for the ordered Interpol Red Notice removals to be incomplete on a national level. Although Interpol may be satisfied that the Red Notice order should be deleted, the national state may not completely delete the individuals’ information. This can lead to individuals facing arrest at airports or denial of entry.
At Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, we will examine your case thoroughly and outline the options available. Our team will work with you to provide legal solutions on a national and international level based on legal provisions such as the GDPR. Through the GDPR, we can often seek information in national police files and ask to remove such data.
Efficient removal of this data on national police records is often as important as having the Red Notice deleted by Interpol itself.
Interpol Red Notices are valid for five years unless removed by Interpol or the issuing country. However, those who have had Red Notices issued against them should not assume that the Notice has been deleted after this five-year period as the duration of validity can be extended.
Allow our extradition lawyers to examine whether the Interpol Red Notice against you has been deleted.
Interpol Notices: This is what the colour coding means
As well as Red Notice deletion, our lawyers advise clients regarding the other Interpol Notices.
A Blue Notice serves a similar purpose as Red Notices but is used to obtain additional information about a suspect. An Interpol Blue Notice relates to the movements of a suspect or a witness but does not provide for arrest. Therefore, the person the alert refers to may not be wanted for a crime committed. Instead, the Notice may be issued because that person may have further information on criminal proceedings.
A Green Notice can be provided if police forces want to warn each other about people suspected of being a danger to the public. Often, those who have committed criminal offences who are deemed to be likely to engage in them again. Interpol Green Notices are used regularly for warnings about serial sex offenders.
The Yellow Notice is used to locate missing persons, especially those unable to identify themselves. These cases can often involve minors and those who may not be of sound mind. Such notices are given in cases of child abduction, kidnappings and in times of unexplained disappearances.
Orange Notices warn of an event, person, object, or process that poses a severe and immediate threat to the public. They often refer to illegal items, parcel bombs, and other dangerous and explosive materials to be tracked down.
A Black Notice is given when Interpol needs information about unidentified bodies. In many of these cases, the persons found may have used false identities. Interpol will circulate photographs of the body and, when possible, fingerprints and information about the body to help with the identification process.
The Purple Notice is issued to search for or provide information on the modus operandi (specific pattern of committing the crime), objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals. Often these refer to criminal groups or organised gangs.
Diffusions Orders are also issued, and they are less formal types of alerts than Notices. They are also used to forward requests for arrest or ascertain the defendant’s whereabouts to Interpol member states.
A Diffusion Order is communicated directly by a state’s relevant Interpol National Centre Bureau (NCB) (in Germany, the Federal Criminal Office) to any member state or the entire Interpol network.
Just like Interpol Notices, Diffusions are categorised according to the type of request and marked with colours but are otherwise treated the same way. In particular, the Interpol Statute’s requirements and the data processing rules must also be observed here.
Extradition under German Law
Our lawyers will support you in cases concerning extradition from Germany. Germany’s extradition process starts when another country seeks legal assistance from Germany. The Schengen Information System (SIS) can then be implemented for an international search for persons, as can Notice orders through Interpol.
In the European Union, issuing a European arrest warrant is another option. However, there are several grounds upon which Germany will refuse to extradite someone. Per § 12 IRG, the extradition order can only be approved by the German court where the defendant’s extradition is considered legitimate. Some of the grounds for declaring the extradition order to be illegitimate include:
- In the requesting state, there is a threat of torture or inhumane treatment/conditions of detention (§ 16a(3) German Constitution; Art. 3 CAT)
- If in the requesting state, the relevant offence is punishable by death and there is no assurance that the death penalty will not be imposed (§ 8 IRG)
- The defendant cannot be moved due to serious illness, or extradition would entail a risk to their life (Higher Regional Court Hamm, 19 January 2006 – (2) 4 Ausl. A 34/05 (17 and 18/06))
- The proceedings are solely politically motivated (§ 6 IRG)
- It cannot be expected that the defendant to have a fair trial (Art.6 ECHR)
- There is a risk that the defendant may be extradited further without German consent (§ 11(1) Nr.2 IRG
If you have reason to fear extradition from Germany, make sure to contact our legal team directly and let them examine your case.
Practice Group: German Extradition & Interpol Law
Practice Group:
Extradition & Interpol Law
Contact our Lawyers for Extradition and Interpol Law
Please use our online form to outline your request to us. After receiving your request, we will make a brief initial assessment based on the facts described and provide you with a cost offer. You can then decide whether you would like to engage our services.
