A group of US senators calls for a vote against Prokopchuk's candidacy for the post of head of Interpol

Several US senators issued a joint statement calling on the administration of US President Donald Trump and members of the Interpol General Assembly to oppose the candidacy of Russian Alexander Prokopchuk in the upcoming presidential elections of the organization.

“The election of Major General Alexander Prokopchuk as the new president of Interpol is akin to the idea of ​​putting a fox at the head of a chicken coop,” Interfax quoted the statement as saying .

According to the authors of the appeal, Russia regularly abuses Interpol "for the purpose of settling scores and persecuting political opponents, dissidents and journalists." According to them, Prokopchuk was personally involved in this strategy of intimidation. Senators warn that if Prokopchuk is elected head of Interpol, Russia will continue to abuse arrest requests and block efforts to reform the organization. In addition, Prokopchuk will have access to confidential data that will "strengthen the Kremlin's ability to prosecute critics living outside of Russia."

Prokopchuk has served as the head of the National Central Bureau of Interpol of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation since June 14, 2011. Since November 10, 2016, he has been Vice President of Interpol. The vote for the President of Interpol will take place on Wednesday.