Kremlin backs veteran Russian official for Interpol presidency
Source: Wall Street Journal
MOSCOW--The Kremlin said it backed a veteran Russian Interior Ministry official to become Interpol's president, a development that raises fresh concerns about the efficacy of the international police agency critics say authoritarian governments have abused.
The potential appointment of Maj. Gen. Alexander Prokopchuk when Interpol's general assembly votes for its next president in Dubai on Wednesday has sparked criticism from human-rights groups and government officials who say Moscow has used the organization to pursue and persecute political enemies.
Interpol's former president, Hongwei Meng, resigned in October after Chinese authorities arrested him on charges of alleged corruption.
"Of course, we support the Russian candidate and want him to be victorious in this election," Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Monday.
Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/kremlin-backs-veteran-russian-official-for-interpol-presidency-1542660416?mod=e2tw
According to this article, there is at least one other candidate for the office -- who may be a South Korean -- but the US State Department is declining to say who else is in the running or whom it prefers.
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