Dubai Interpol conference elects South Korean chief, snubbing Russian candidate

At an annual Interpol meeting that was held in Dubai the international police cooperation agency said that Kim Jong-yang of South Korea had been chosen as its new president, beating a Russian official who Western officials vehemently opposed. 

The US-backed Kim, acting president of the global police body, was picked at a meeting of delegates from member nations ito replace Meng Hongwei, who went missing in his native China in September.

Beijing later said Meng resigned after being charged with accepting bribes.

There had been growing Western calls for Interpol to reject Russian candidate Alexander Prokopchuk -- a Russian interior ministry official and current Interpol vice president -- over fears Moscow could abuse the role to target political opponents.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threw his weight behind Kim, who will serve out Meng's term until 2020.

"We encourage all nations and organisations that are part of Interpol and that respect the rule of law to choose a leader with integrity. We believe Mr. Kim will be just that," Pompeo told reporters.

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Critics have raised concerns over Russia's previous applications for Interpol "Red Notices", or international arrest warrants, to target those who have fallen foul of the Kremlin.

Prokopchuk will continue in his role as Interpol vice president, a spokeswoman for the interior ministry in Moscow, Irina Volk, told Russian news agencies.

In an open letter this week, a bipartisan group of US senators said choosing Prokopchuk would be like "putting a fox in charge of a henhouse". 

Anti-Kremlin figures had also raised concerns, including Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who has been repeatedly jailed by authorities.

"Our team has suffered from abuse of Interpol for political persecution by Russia," Navalny wrote on Twitter. "I don't think that a president from Russia will help to reduce such violations".

The controversy also comes amid security concerns over accusations of Russian agents attempting to poison an ex-spy in Britain and trying to hack the network of the global chemical weapons watchdog.

Ukraine, deeply at odds with Moscow over its annexation of Crimea and support for separatists, threatened to pull out of Interpol if Prokopchuk prevailed. Lithuania also said it would consider withdrawing from the network.

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