Missing Interpol Chief Detained in China

After days of rumor and confusion over the missing case of Interpol Chief Meng Hongwei, China finally confirmed that he has been detained immediately after his arrival to his home country and a trial has begun against him in his country for violating the law.

Meng is the first Chinese president of Interpol, who was last seen on September 25th before he left Lyon for China. Lyon is where the Interpol headquarter is based. French officials first confirmed his disappearance this week, but China chose to remain silent over the issue until now.

China confirmed on Monday that the president of Interpol is detained on his way to China and is now under investigation for a criminal activity, though not many details have been given. In a statement by National Supervisory Commission, it has said that Meng “is currently under investigation on suspicion of violating the law”. Meng Hongwei is also China’s vice minister of public security and National Supervisory Commission, handles corruption charges involving public servants of China.

On the other hand, Interpol’s Secretary General Juergen Stock has said that the agency is seeking “clarification” about his whereabouts from the Chinese authorities. In recent months China has witnessed some high profile disappearances, where a number of top government officials, billionaire businessman and a top celebrity have vanished without the knowledge of anyone.

Meng Hongwei’s wife Grace Meng in a press conference said that she feared that her husband is in danger. She said she had not heard from her husband since a message by him sent on 25 September, where according to her, Meng had sent her an emoji of a knife, which signifies he was at risk. Four minutes before he sent the knife image, he sent his wife a text message saying, “Wait for my call”. She also urged everyone as, “The matter belongs to the international community” now.

64-year-old Meng Hongwei, has more than 40 years of experience in criminal justice, particularly in the field of counter-terrorism, drugs control, immigration and border control. Meng is also a senior member of China’s Communist party. Meng Hongwei was living with his wife and two children in France after being elected the Interpol President in 2016.

China’s recently established National Supervisory Commission’s work is to investigate corruption cases as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-graft campaign. Some of the critics said that the commission has punished more than one million officials till date and they are of the opinion that the commission also functions as a tool for Xi Jinping to eliminate his political rivals.