After eight years of litigation, International Police Organisation INTERPOL has today lifted the so-called Red Notice issued by the Government of Azerbaijan against Mr A. Samadov. A Red Notice is an arrest warrant with global reach, issued by INTERPOL at the request of one of its member states.
Mr Samadov is a political dissident from Azerbaijan and acknowledged UNHCR refugee living in the Netherlands since 2008. Until today, he could not physically leave the territory of the Netherlands without being arrested with a view to extradition to Azerbaijan, the very country he needs international protection from.
Mr Samadov’s lawyer, Tomasz Kodrzycki, was very pleased with INTERPOL’s decision: “After eight years of uphill legal battle against INTERPOL, Mr Samadov’s Kafkaesque nightmare now comes to an end. The INTERPOL Red Notice system is viewed by many in the international legal community as a tool very susceptible to abuse by states with poor human rights track records. Today’s decision raises hope again that INTERPOL have stepped up their efforts granting individuals legal protection against certain states’ abuse of INTERPOL's global reach.”
Besides proceedings before INTERPOL itself, Mr Kodrzycki lodged a complaint against Azerbaijan with the European Court of Human Rights. Those proceedings are still pending.
Please click here for an article on the case by NGO Fair Trials International, including an interview with Mr Samadov.