Detained abroad on an INTERPOL notice: the first 48 hours

When a Red Notice triggers at the border, the person is separated for checks and may be placed under provisional arrest while the requesting country confirms the extradition request. This is a procedural measure, not a verdict.

The time the requesting country has to send a formal extradition request is limited and depends on the jurisdiction and treaties.

In most countries a detainee has the right to a lawyer, an interpreter, notification of their consulate and to remain silent. These rights should be used immediately, and documents whose meaning is unclear should not be signed.

The right to consular notification is set by the Vienna Convention — the consul does not defend you in court but helps with a lawyer and contact with relatives.

Do not give statements on the merits of the charge without a lawyer, do not sign consent to simplified surrender without understanding the consequences, and do not try to flee — this worsens the position and forfeits the chance of a defence.

Any consent to fast-track extradition is usually irreversible, so decisions at that level are made only with counsel.

The pairing of a local lawyer and an INTERPOL specialist should ideally be engaged within the first hours. The local lawyer handles arrest and court; the INTERPOL specialist handles challenging the notice itself via the CCF.

The detainee's relatives should pass on the place of custody and case details as quickly as possible — this speeds up the defence.