Interpol used as a tool by disgruntled former spouses in divorce and child custody cases. Expert says preventative submissions are the best solution.
A British father fears he could be listed on Interpol after his wife left him in Dubai under pressure from her strict father. The couple were tied up in complex divorce proceedings, the stuff of expat nightmares. He lost his assets and his bank accounts were frozen when a judgement was entered against him in absentia.
Despite him being granted parental responsibility while she won custody (a strange UAE ruling that prefers men to have authority over major decisions like education), she continually reneged on court appointed visitations and the courts didn’t seem to care. He was forced to return to the UK for work but is now afraid she will pursue criminal cases against him over the financial court orders which could result in an Interpol Red Notice.
“It’s extremely common for former spouses to make criminal complaints against their exes in order to prevent them returning to the country and sharing parental custody or responsibility”, explains Radha Stirling, Interpol expert and CEO of Detained in Dubai and IPEX (Interpol & Extradition) Reform. “We have helped in numerous cases where spouses have deliberately misused the criminal justice and Interpol systems to ensure they are free to raise their child without interference from the mother or father. It’s certainly worked both ways and many women have also been deprived of their children through this abuse of process.
“When we believe someone to be at risk of a wrongful Interpol Red Notice under these conditions, we prepare preventative submissions to Interpol to ensure that when a vindictive report is made, the victim is already protected from wrongful arrest and human rights violations”, confirmed Stirling, who has urged those at risk to take pre-emptive action.
“If no pre-emptive actions are taken, we’ve seen the terrible situations arise. We’ve seen people arrested while on holiday, being deprived of their liberty, subjected to lengthy and costly extradition proceedings and even extradited. Preventative submissions can save people from those potential adverse consequences and give them peace of mind”.
Anyone who feels they are at risk of judicial abuse and a resulting Interpol Red Notice are encouraged to seek independent advice. Stirling is an expert witness in Interpol and extradition cases and has been removing Interpol Red Notices for almost two decades. “It’s much easier to prevent the Notice in the first place than have to deal with a live one and the resulting issues and severe consequences, including imprisonment, costly extradition, damage to reputation and loss of employment”.
