LONDON(RAHNUMA): The International Criminal Police Organization has canceled a 2024 alert that listed more than 24,500 Syrian passports as stolen, after Syria worked with the organization to establish that the notice was based on inaccurate information, a Syrian security official said on Saturday.
Abdul Rahim Jabara, director of the International Cooperation Department at the Syrian Arab Republic’s Interior Ministry, said the alert was issued at the request of the now-ousted government of President Bashar Assad and was later found to be invalid.
The former Assad government requested the international alert in November 2024 after the capture of Aleppo, saying 24,511 passports had been stolen from an immigration and passports center in the city.
But official records showed the passports had been properly issued and legally delivered to their holders, Jabara said in a statement on the Interior Ministry’s Telegram channel.
Syrian officials worked with Interpol to establish that the alert lacked a valid basis, leading to its removal, he said.
The notice had significantly disrupted travel for Syrians whose passports were listed, Jabara said. Some passport holders were detained in several countries, while others had their documents confiscated.
The decision comes as Syria’s new authorities seek to expand engagement with Interpol and other international law enforcement bodies.
The Interior Ministry participated in Interpol’s first Global Conference on Police Communication in May in Lyon, France.
The Justice Ministry had announced on Aug. 12 that it had established an Extradition Committee to communicate with Interpol on behalf of Syrian authorities seeking individuals abroad.
Deputy Justice Minister Mustafa Al-Qasim said at the time that the ministry was also opening offices to receive transitional justice complaints and working to recover Syrian assets allegedly embezzled and transferred overseas.
However, the scope of Interpol’s role in such cases is narrower than it is often portrayed, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.
Interpol facilitates cooperation among national police agencies but does not issue binding international arrest warrants, conduct extradition proceedings, determine criminal liability or require member countries to surrender individuals.
Syria’s National Central Bureau in Damascus acts as a liaison between Syrian law enforcement agencies, Interpol’s secure communications system and police authorities in other member states. It has no authority outside Syrian territory.
Syria has been an Interpol member since 1953, according to the organization’s records.
Interpol’s principal mechanism for locating wanted individuals is a Red Notice, a request to police agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or another legal action.
However, a Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant, according to Interpol’s website. The person is sought by the requesting country or court, and each country determines under its own laws whether to detain the individual.
