INTERPOL Candidate Mustafa Serkan Sabanca Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Red Notice Manipulation

Turkish INTERPOL Candidate Under Scrutiny Ahead of Election

Mustafa Serkan Sabanca, Turkey's candidate for the presidency of INTERPOL, is facing heightened scrutiny following a recent report alleging his involvement in an attempt to manipulate a Red Notice request. The allegations surface as INTERPOL's 93rd General Assembly convenes in Marrakech, Morocco, from November 24-27, 2025, to elect a new president for a four-year term. Sabanca currently serves as the head of INTERPOL's National Central Bureau in Turkey and the Interpol-Europol Department.

Allegations of Political Red Notice Attempt

A special report published by The Telegraph on November 25, 2025, claims that Sabanca advised police on how to seek a Red Notice for a human rights lawyer residing in Belgium. According to the report, a classified memo reviewed by The Telegraph indicated that Sabanca 'kindly requested' officers to prepare the Red Notice request under an embezzlement charge rather than a terrorism charge. This alleged maneuver was reportedly aimed at circumventing INTERPOL's strict rules against politically motivated notices, as a terrorism charge was deemed unlikely to secure a Red Notice. The lawyer in question, identified only as 'Osman' due to security concerns, had fled Turkey in 2016 and was granted asylum in Belgium, having previously represented a client linked to the Gülen movement.

Turkey's History of Red Notice Controversies

The allegations against Sabanca are set against a broader backdrop of concerns regarding Turkey's use of INTERPOL's Red Notice system. Human rights groups and policing experts have consistently criticized Turkey for allegedly abusing the system to target political opponents, journalists, and critics, particularly those associated with the Gülen movement. The Turkish government designated the Gülen movement as a 'terrorist organization' following the 2016 coup attempt, a classification not recognized by the United States, the European Union, or major international bodies.

Since 2016, Turkey has submitted a substantial number of Red Notice requests. Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç revealed in July 2025 that the government had submitted 3,579 Red Notice requests to INTERPOL targeting alleged members of the Gülen movement, alongside 2,364 extradition requests to 118 countries. Despite these efforts, INTERPOL has reportedly rejected almost 800 Red Notice requests from Turkey in the past five years, as of November 2021, underscoring the organization's efforts to uphold its constitutional mandate.

Concerns for INTERPOL's Neutrality

INTERPOL's constitution explicitly prohibits the organization from engaging in activities of a political, military, religious, or racial character, a principle enshrined in Article 3. However, critics argue that Turkey has repeatedly attempted to bypass this rule by re-packaging politically driven cases as ordinary criminal offenses. The potential election of Sabanca has raised significant concerns among human rights advocates and experts who warn that it could grant Ankara greater influence over INTERPOL's internal processes, potentially compromising the impartiality of its alert mechanisms and eroding trust among member states. Turkey's embassy in London has denied all claims of abuse, asserting that the memo cited by The Telegraph was 'manipulation' by the Gülen movement and that Turkey adheres to INTERPOL's rules.