Interior Minister to talk about Turkey's 'fight against crime' at Interpol summit

Duvar English

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu will talk about Turkey's "fight against crime" at an Interpol summit in Istanbul this month. 

The 89th Interpol General Assembly will be held between Nov. 23 and 25 in Istanbul and will bring together chiefs of police and senior officials from around the world to address global security issues.

This is the third time that Turkey will host Interpol, with the first two being in 1955 and 1996.

Ankara's relations with The International Criminal Police Organization have been strained for a while, mainly due to the organization's refusal to accept Turkey's red notice demands. While the country brought 1,064 sought individuals from abroad via Interpol since 1982, the organization has been reluctant in accepting Turkey's increasing demands since the July 15, 2016 failed coup attempt, news portal T24 reported. 

According to T24, Turkey applied to Interpol for it to issue red notices for some 780 suspects it seeks over links to the network of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, the main suspect behind the botched coup, but Interpol didn't give Ankara a positive response.

Additional demands were submitted for 250 individuals not linked to the Gülenists, but the organization rejected them as well. 

The fact that the General Assembly will be held in Istanbul is expected to mend the strained ties, T24 said, adding that Turkey may convince the organization to issue red notices. The Justice Ministry's role, however, is crucial here, since it needs to convince officials that court rulings are not political. 

Interior Minister Soylu may face serious questions, the news portal said, pointing to increased organized crime and impunity provided to mafia leaders.