Leonard Homeniuk, the dual U.S./Canadian citizen facing a court hearing in Bulgaria on his possible extradition to Kyrgyzstan, says that once his current predicament is over, he and his wife plan to work with London-based Fair Trials or other NGOs to try and reform Interpol, The Globe and Mail has reported.

According to Homeniuk, the blame for his situation lies with the Interpol, the world police body which has issued the Red Notice global alert for his detention on charges of corruption at the request of the Kyrgyz authorities, Jeff Gray writes in an article published by the Canadian newspaper.

“[…] critics, including London-based Fair Trials International, protest that Interpol lets repressive or corrupt governments […] abuse the red-notice system,” the article reads. 

“They say some countries issue bogus charges and request red notices in order to reach far beyond their borders and harass innocent dissidents, human-rights activists, journalists and even business people whose dealings with governments or well-connected local partners have gone sour.”

The Kyrgyz authorities claim that Homeniuk, a former CEO of Toronto-based Centerra Gold was allegedly involved in shady deals with Kyrgyz officials during a restructuring process at Kumtor, the largest gold mine in Kyrgyzstan, in 2003-2004. He has denied any wrongdoing and insists that the charges against him are politically motivated.

Homeniuk was detained in Bulgaria in late July and spent more than a month under house arrest in Sofia before being granted bail in mid-September. Now he is facing a court hearing on the extradition request on October 7.

You can read the original article “Interpol faces scrutiny over its global arrest alerts” here.

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