The international body is to elect its new president on Nov 21.

One of the two candidates in the upcoming vote by Interpol’s 192 member states, is from Russia despite allegations that Moscow has used Interpol’s procedures to pursue political enemies.

Russia's Alexander Prokopchuk, a current Interpol vice-president who previously headed the office of Russia’s deputy interior minister, will compete with Kim Jong Yang of South Korea, Interpol’s acting president, according to The Financial Times.

The international body is to elect its new head on Nov 21 following the disappearance in China of its former president Meng Hongwei, which raised fears the organization was open to manipulation

Jürgen Stock, Interpol’s secretary-general, has urged China to reveal more about the corruption case against its missing former president, as the global police body battles claims that it is vulnerable to manipulation by autocratic countries seeking to crack down on political opponents.

Fair Trials, a UK-based rights campaign group, has written to Mr Stock ahead of the presidential poll to argue it is “imperative that the record of the country of which future presidents are delegates is also subject to public security”.

“It would not be appropriate for a country with a record of violations of Interpol’s rules (for example by frequently seeking to use its systems to disseminate politically-motivated alerts) to be given a leadership role in a key oversight institution,” says the letter signed by Jago Russell, Fair Trials’ chief executive.