Spouse of Ex-Chinese Interpol Chief Sues Agency

Beijing: The wife of the disgraced Interpol chief detained in China for corruption has launched a lawsuit against the global policing body for allegedly making threats against her with the aim of preventing her from speaking about the disappearance of her husband, her lawyers confirmed to the South China Morning Post daily on Sunday.

The legal action filed at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is the latest twist to the high-profile disappearance of China’s first president of Interpol, Meng Hongwei, after his confession in a Chinese court to accepting more than $2 million in bribes. “(Interpol) failed to protect and assist my family and it is complicit in the internationally wrongful acts of its member country, China,” Grace Meng said in a statement. “Despite Interpol’s threat for speaking out, I am announcing that I have launched legal proceedings against Interpol at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.”

She added that a tribunal would be set up to ascertain Interpol’s claims that Meng Hongwei’s disappearance was “only a matter for the relevant authorities in France and China”, or whether the global institution “breached its obligations owed to my family”. Meng Hongwei last appeared in a trial at Tianjin No 1 Intermediate People’s Court on June 20, in which he admitted using various positions he held from 2005 to 2017 to help companies and people make illegal gains. He pleaded guilty to the accusation and is set to be sentenced at a later date. (IANS)

Also Read: Ex-Interpol Chief Meng Hongwei To Face Trial In China