GENEVA - The issuance of Interpol red notices against two Salvadoran human rights defenders currently in exile in Spain constitutes a grave misuse of the law enforcement mechanism, UN experts* warned today.
"This move amounts to an act of transnational repression, as it extends the harassment of human rights defenders beyond borders, targeting them in a country where they are seeking safety," the experts said.
Ivania Cruz and Rudy Joya have applied for asylum in Spain, fleeing legal harassment in El Salvador stemming from their legitimate human rights work. Both human rights defenders work for the non-governmental organisation UNIDEHC, which has been targeted by the Salvadoran authorities since February 2025 for its support to the La Floresta community, who have been facing attempts of forced eviction since 2024.
"The charges brought against Ivania Cruz and Rudy Joya in El Salvador and related arrest warrants issued by the authorities appear to be without basis and in direct connection with their legitimate human rights work for UNIDEHC to support communities under threat and denounce the actions of the Government under the state of emergency declared in 2022," the experts said.
In May 2025, the court presiding over their case in El Salvador ordered the Interpol National Central Bureau to submit a request for the issuance of a red notice to the Interpol General Secretariat. Interpol confirmed the issuance in July 2025.
"The El Salvador is abusing the red notice system to pursue its political agenda to harass and persecute human rights defenders beyond its borders," the experts said. "We are dismayed that Interpol would issue notices that facilitate transnational repression without due diligence as to the background of the individuals against whom the red notices are being issued."
The experts pointed to Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Interpol, which state that the organisation is "strictly forbidden" from undertaking "any intervention or activities of a political nature", and that the organisation's activities will be conducted "in the spirit of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights."
In September 2025, Rudy Joya was summoned by police under the pretext of his asylum application in Spain. Upon presenting himself to the authorities, he was detained and presented before a Spanish specialised court. Ivania Cruz was also summoned and appeared before the same court, which ordered that both defenders sign-in at a local court every 15 days, not leave the country, surrender their passports and report any change of address.
"We call on Interpol to immediately revoke the red notices and judicial sanctions against Ivania Cruz and Rudy Joya, and on Spain to refuse to accede to the red notice and to ensure their safety by rejecting their forcible return to El Salvador," the experts said.
The experts are in contact with Interpol and the governments of Spain and El Salvador on these concerns.
