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South Korea's Kim Jong Yang was elected as Interpol's president on Wednesday, 21 November, edging out a longtime veteran of Russia's security services who was strongly opposed by the US, Britain and other European nations.
Kim's election was seen as a victory for the White House and its European partners, who had lobbied against Alexander Prokopchuk's attempts to be named the next president of the policing organization.
Russia accused its critics of running a "campaign to discredit" their candidate, calling Prokopchuk a respected professional.
Kim, a police official in South Korea, was serving as interim president after Meng's departure from the post and was senior vice president at Interpol.
Russia's Interior Ministry said after the vote that Prokopchuk, who is one of three vice presidents at Interpol, will continue his role in that position.
Most of Interpol's 194 member-countries attended the organisation's Annual Assembly this year, which was held in an opulent Dubai hotel along the Persian Gulf coast.
Interpol was facing a pivotal moment in its history as delegates decided whether to hand its presidency to Prokopchuk or Kim, who were the only two candidates vying for the post.
Critics say countries like Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran and China have used the system to try to round up political opponents, journalists or activists, even though its rules prohibit the use of police notices for political reasons.
The agency faced criticism two years ago when Interpol's member-states approved Meng as president for a four-year term.
In 2016, Interpol introduced new measures aimed at strengthening the legal framework around the red notice system. As part of the changes, an international team of lawyers and experts first check a notice's compliance with Interpol rules and regulations before it goes out. Interpol also says it enhanced the work of an appeals body for those targeted with red notices.
Watchdog groups have urged Interpol to reform the diffusion system too.
Bill Browder, who runs an investment fund that had once operated in Moscow, says Russia used the diffusion system against him, which led to his brief arrest in Spain earlier this year.
Browder and another prominent Kremlin critic warned on Tuesday, 20 November, that electing Prokopchuk— who has ties to President Vladimir Putin— would have undermined the international law enforcement agency and politicized police cooperation across borders. Prokopchuk was in charge of facilitating Interpol warrants on behalf of Russia.
A day before the Interpol vote, the White House came out publicly against the election of Prokopchuk, with National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis saying "the Russian government abuses Interpol's processes to harass its political opponents." He said the US "strongly endorses" Kim.
"We believe Mr. Kim will be just that," he said.
Russia, however, secured a win for its ally Serbia on Tuesday, 20 November, when Kosovo's bid to join Interpol failed to garner enough votes at the general assembly in Dubai. The move would have boosted Kosovo's efforts at recognition of its statehood. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
(Published in an arrangement with the Associated Press)
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