Dirty Work

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Dirty Work

It's a system which is meant to enable police forces to flag their most wanted persons at international borders around the world. But, for some, Interpol's red notices have had devastating consequences - they're detained, imprisoned, and extradited, after being wrongly targeted. Sahar Zand investigates the red notice system - and gets a rare chance to speak to the organisation's Secretary General. Regular people, dissidents and Interpol insiders explain how bad actors have been able - in some cases - to hijack the system to capture people beyond their borders.

Episodes

  1. Introducing... The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim

    30 SEPT

    Introducing... The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim

    Sky News’ Yalda Hakim and NBC’s Richard Engel have covered world events for years. Now, they team up for a new podcast to share their experiences from the frontline.     They debrief from global flashpoints and discuss their encounters with the biggest decision makers. They’ll also be joined by some of those key players to help make sense of world events.   From conflict in the Middle East, to the US election, and the war in Ukraine there is no better place for analysis and expertise. New episodes from Richard and Yalda every Wednesday, starting October 9th.

    2 min

  2. 26 FEB

    Episode Four: One Of The Worst

    Warning: This episode contains descriptions of torture In our final episode, Sahar Zand tells the story of Jessica, who spent six years in US detention because of a "bogus" Interpol red notice issued after she was harassed by a police officer in her home country, El Salvador. The US has specific legislation to prevent Interpol being used for transnational repression, but immigration authorities appear to ignore guidance not to arrest someone solely because of a red notice. There's a closer look at the president of Interpol, Major General Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi - a senior police officer in the UAE - who human rights lawyers say is one of the biggest offenders of Interpol abuse. And to round off the series, UK security minister Tom Tugendhat explains his appetite for governance changes. In episode two of the series, the Interpol secretary general Jurgen Stock spoke to Dirty Work about the red notice system. He said: "I think it is a very robust system, and it is a very successful system first and foremost because it helps almost every day around the world to catch dangerous fugitives, murderers, rapists, those who are exploiting children, drug traffickers." When asked about people ending up with a notice who shouldn't, he said it is "a small number of cases, but of course, very often significant cases that end up in the media and where we say, yes, this notice should not have been published". Presenter: Sahar Zand Producer: Heidi Pett Senior producer: Sarah Burke Sound designer: James Bradshaw Editor: Paul Stanworth

    48 min

  3. 03/08/2023

    Episode Three: Life Sentence

    In this episode, Sahar Zand goes back to speak to Brian Glendinning about his experience in Iraqi jail, and the harrowing impact of his unforeseen arrest. But Brian, compared to some people, is still lucky. For dissidents and opposition figures around the world, the Red Notice is the latest tool for transnational repression by autocratic governments. These people often end up in prison indefinitely, or extradited to the countries they had long fled for safety. With expert analysis from Rhys Davies and Ben Keith - authors of Red Notice Monitor - we take a look at the worst case scenarios for being on the wrong end of a Red Notice. Sahar meets Zeynure and her three children. They are Uyghur exiles living in Istanbul. Zeynure’s husband, Idris Hasan, has been in prison in Morocco for two years facing extradition to China. Uyghur activists like Idris are increasingly at risk of Red Notices, experts tell us, as China has increased its use of Interpol as a tool of transnational repression. Sahar talks to Idris, who says this Red Notice has been a death sentence. A potential return to China is “worse than death.” Plus, Alicia Kearns, the Conservative MP who chairs the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Select Committee, tells Dirty Work about the committee’s “grave concerns” over how the system works. She calls on the Home Office to find a way to inform British nationals if they’re the subject of a malicious red notice. WARNING: This episode contains strong language. Presenter: Sahar Zand Producer: Heidi Pett Senior producer: Sarah Burke Sound designer: James Bradshow Editor: Paul Stanworth

    42 min

  4. 27/07/2023

    Episode Two: Hijacked

    In this episode, Sahar Zand continues to follow Brian Glendinning's story - whose Interpol Red Notice raises significant questions about how the system works. Brian found himself in a dangerous prison in a country he'd never been to - because of a small amount of debt in Qatar. His case poses bigger questions about what kind of justice Interpol Red Notices serve. Sahar also speaks to Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock who has undertaken a series of reforms to try to make it harder for wrongful Red Notices to get through the net. In a rare interview, he explains why it was his priority to reform a system that had let so many people down. Sahar asks how wrongful notices still get through, and why the reforms have not gone far enough to protect some innocent people from detention and extradition. Interpol expert Ted Bromund explores how the Red Notice system began and how it evolved from the story of two plane hijackings in the 1970s. We look at Interpol's governance system, and the opportunities and pitfalls that presents for the integrity of the system. Sahar visits Grant, a British Army veteran, who is rebuilding his life in London, after losing everything in Qatar following a Red Notice. Grant talks about the pain of knowing you aren't guilty, and losing everything anyway. And she speaks to Radha Stirling, the activist who has helped Brian Glendinning try to navigate the system to fight their wrongful Red Notices, and try to rebuild their lives. Presenter: Sahar Zand Producer: Heidi Pett Senior Producer: Sarah Burke Sound Designer: James Bradshaw Editor: Paul Stanworth

    41 min

  5. 19/07/2023

    Episode One: Russian Roulette

    In the first of three episodes, Sahar Zand meets the ordinary people who say their lives have been upturned by Interpol Red Notices which should never have been issued. These people never knew there was a Red Notice out for them, until they tried to cross a border. And then their lives changed forever. She meets John Glendinning as he is frantically trying to connect with his brother Brian, who is calling from inside a prison in Baghdad. He had flown there for a new job, and was detained on an Red Notice issued by Qatar. Conditions in the prison are bad, and the signal is bad. In other cases, Bill Browder explains the eight notices against him from Russia after he exposed a multi million dollar tax fraud within Putin’s government. And Sahar speaks to Marek Zmyslowski, a Polish businessman who fell out with his business partner in Nigeria, and spent £250,000 to try to clear his name. He reflects on having to rebuild his life. WARNING: This episode contains strong language. While we've got you...please take a few moments to let us know your thoughts on our podcasts and your listening preferences by filling in a short survey. Click here Presenter: Sahar Zand Producers: Heidi Pett and Anne-Marie Bullock Senior Producer: Sarah Burke Sound Designer: James Bradshaw Editor: Paul Stanworth

    35 min

  6. 15/07/2023

    Welcome to... Dirty Work

    Sahar Zand presents Dirty Work - a podcast series from Sky News about what happens when Red Notices go wrong. We speak to the people who are caught in the gears of a global police information system, operated by Interpol, which enables police forces to flag their most wanted persons at international borders around the world. In some cases, those people are detained, imprisoned, and extradited, with devastating consequences. In its centennial year, Interpol’s Secretary General tells us the organization is doing everything it can to protect innocent people from being targeted wrongly by police through Interpol. He argues that only a small percentage have to be cancelled. But regular people, dissidents and Interpol insiders explain how bad actors have been able - in some cases - to hijack the system to capture people beyond their borders.

    3 min

Trailer

About

It's a system which is meant to enable police forces to flag their most wanted persons at international borders around the world. But, for some, Interpol's red notices have had devastating consequences - they're detained, imprisoned, and extradited, after being wrongly targeted. Sahar Zand investigates the red notice system - and gets a rare chance to speak to the organisation's Secretary General. Regular people, dissidents and Interpol insiders explain how bad actors have been able - in some cases - to hijack the system to capture people beyond their borders.

Information

  • Channel
    Sky News
  • Creator
    Sky News
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Sky News
  • Show Website
    Dirty Work

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