Date:01/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/01/stories/2008030153351700.htm

National

Interpol alert on militant’s escape

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: Interpol, acting on a request from Singapore, has issued “an urgent worldwide security alertfor the arrest of Mas Selamat Kastari, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant, who escaped from a detention centre here on Wednesday.

Describing him as “an alleged leader of the JI terrorist group,” Interpol said all its 186 national central bureaus were given the Orange Notice. Jean-Michel Louboutin, Interpol Executive Director of Police Services, said “Singapore is clearly doing all that it can on a national level to locate this fugitive.” The Orange Notice was deemed necessary to “support these efforts on an international scale.” In issuing this notice, which was originally instituted as an alert for “potential threats related to disguised weapons, explosives, and other dangerous materials,” Interpol treated Mas Selamat’s escape as “an event which poses a risk to the safety and security of citizens around the world.”