A senior Chinese security official was named president of Interpol, the international police liaison organisation, drawing criticism from human rights groups who said it would help Beijing pursue dissidents abroad.
Meng Hongwei, China’s vice-minister of public security, was elected head of Interpol’s executive committee at a meeting on Thursday in the Indonesian island of Bali. It is the first time a Chinese official has held a position which determines Interpol policy.
France-based Interpol has no law enforcement powers or officers of its own, but acts to share information between police forces around the world. It does this by communicating so-called red notices between members that request a suspect who has crossed an international border be arrested and deported.