BRUSSELS — Hakeem al-Araibi thought he had escaped the reach of the Bahraini government when he fled to Australia years ago as a political refugee. But last year he ventured to Thailand for a belated honeymoon and was immediately arrested and scheduled to be sent back to his native country.

Bahrain, which has been accused of torture and other abuses, had used what is known as an Interpol red notice to reach across the world and grab him, despite rules meant to protect refugees.

It was an embarrassing moment for Interpol. Years of cases like this had provoked accusations that the world’s largest international police organization had become a tool of repressive governments. Interpol promised to improve. Mr. al-Araibi’s arrest was a stark reminder that despite its reforms, Interpol was still vulnerable to manipulation by strongmen, despots and human rights violators.

For a time after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, world leaders hoped that the sleepy agency on the banks of the Rhône in France would become a unifying force for the rule of law. Interpol’s goals of safety and security were supposed to transcend national boundaries and bring together democracies and autocracies alike.