LYON, France - There have been media reports that Egyptian authorities have ordered the arrest of certain US-based Egyptian Coptic Christians for their alleged involvement in the production of an anti-Islam video and that the Egyptian authorities purportedly will use INTERPOL channels to seek their arrest.
As of Tuesday 18 September, the INTERPOL General Secretariat headquarters is not aware of any request from Egyptian authorities seeking the arrest of any individual wanted in connection with the production of the aforementioned anti-Islam video.
Were such a request to be received, it would be reviewed by INTERPOL's Office of Legal Affairs to determine whether it violated Article 3 of INTERPOL's Constitution which forbids the Organization from undertaking ‘any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character’.
INTERPOL’s mission is to support each of its 190 member countries in combating all forms of serious crime, but only if it can do so in compliance with its Constitution, rules and regulations.
Therefore, while certain conduct might be illegal under the laws of any particular INTERPOL member country, any request for international police cooperation via INTERPOL channels to seek the arrest internationally of a wanted person, must be in compliance with INTERPOL's Constitution, rules and regulations.