Benny Wenda, the head of the Free West Papua Movement, has succeeded in having his name removed from an Interpol wanted list. He had had been issued with a red notice and was at risk of arrest and extradition.
The Indonesian authorities say they wanted him to stand trial for murder and arson, offences he denies.
But Interpol decided the case against Mr Wenda was “political”.
Benny Wenda, was convicted of inciting people to attack a police station and an arson attack that resulted in several deaths. However, he escaped from prison while awaiting sentence in 2002.
Wenda later arrived in the U.K. and successfully claimed political asylum, arguing that the case against him was a fabrication designed to stop his political activities. He has lived with his wife and children in the English city of Oxford.
There are currently about 26,000 outstanding red notices. While they are only designed to alert other nations’ police forces that an Interpol member state has issued an arrest warrant, some countries will take suspects into custody based on the red notice alone.
Interpol is facing legal threat for helping oppressive regimes hunt dissidents
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News category: Asia Pacific.
