Until now, there hasn’t been much occasion to address Blue Notices since they were the topic of several posts here in May of this year.
This week, however, a Blue Notice has been issued in the name of Ramona Bautista, who is under investigation for activity thought to be related to her brother’s murder. Ms. Bautista is a member of a politically connected family in the Philippines. Another of Ms. Bautista’s brothers has been charged in the murder.
Ms. Bautista has not been charged with a crime as yet. The government of the Philippines requested the Blue Notice after she left the country. A Red Notice was not requested, at least as yet, because of the fact that no charging document or conviction exists against Ms. Bautista.
The point of a Blue Notice is to track a person’s movements when the person is believed to be a witness or a suspect to a crime. The Blue Notice differs from a Red Notice in that a Red Notice is often treated as an international arrest warrant that frequently results in detention, at least temporarily.
Despite the difference in purpose, a Blue Notice is still subject to the same INTERPOL rules as Red Notices, and iNTERPOL can refuse to issue Blue Notices if its rules would be violated by granting a certain request for a Blue Notice.
Next time: why INTERPOL might refuse a request for a Blue Notice.
As always, thoughts and comments are welcomed.