Interpol Issues Urgent Global Security Alert

Interpol Issues Urgent Global Security Alert After Al Qaeda Prisoners Escape

Secretary General Requests More Information From Yemen After Jail-Break

LYON, France – Interpol has issued an urgent global security alert, known as an Orange Notice, following the escape on Friday from a Yemeni prison of 23 dangerous individuals, including at least 13 convicted Al Qaeda terrorists, some of whom were involved in attacks on U.S. and French ships in 2000 and 2002.

The Interpol Orange Notice is ordinarily used to warn police in member countries of mail bombs or disguised weapons or criminal modus operandi. However, Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble personally ordered an Orange Notice to be issued after the Yemeni jail break because the escape and unknown whereabouts of Al Qaeda terrorists constituted a clear and present danger to all countries.

Mr. Noble has urged Yemen to immediately provide Interpol with all the names, photographs, fingerprints and other details of the escaped prisoners so that Interpol’s International Wanted Persons Notices, or Red Notices, can be issued for each of them. Red Notices can only be issued by Interpol at the request of member countries and only if they are supported by underlying national arrest warrants.

'Al Qaeda terrorists have been deemed a serious threat to the entire world community by the UN Security Council, by Interpol and by a wide range of countries,' Mr. Noble said. 'Their escape cannot be considered an internal problem for Yemen alone. Unless Interpol Red Notices are issued urgently for these fugitives and unless the world community commits itself to tracking them down, they will be able to travel internationally, to elude detection and to engage in future terrorist activity.'

Mr. Noble also called on Interpol member countries to take all relevant precautionary measures both at and inside their borders and to provide Yemen with all required support to locate and eventually apprehend the escaped Al Qaeda terrorists.

The escape from a Yemen prison took place on Friday and involved a 140-metre long tunnel dug by the prisoners and co-conspirators outside. Yemeni officials have confirmed to Interpol that that the escapees included Jamal Ahmed Badawi mastermind of the bomb attack on the navy ship USS Cole in 2000, and Fawaz Yahya Al-Rabeei, one of those responsible for attacking the French tanker Limburg in 2002.

Interpol is the world’s largest international police organization with 184 member countries on five continents. It operates a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week Command and Coordination Center and utilizes a secure electronic global police communication system to instantly alert police around the world about dangerous criminals or significant criminal events. Interpol also issues international wanted persons notices and other notices to the world’s police, border control officers and other law enforcement agencies.

Comment: Maybe they just "escaped" them, cause they need some reasonable scapegoats for future attacks...

Source:
[link to www.interpol.com]