The alert nobody reviewed before it was sent
A diffusion is a request sent by one country's police straight to others — for arrest, location or information. It skips the review a notice goes through, and it never appears on any public list.
Diffusion and notice
How it differs from a notice
A notice goes through the General Secretariat before it is circulated. A diffusion does not.
| Notice | Diffusion | |
|---|---|---|
| Route | Requested through the General Secretariat | Sent directly between national bureaus |
| Legal review | Before circulation | Only after it has been sent |
| Recipients | All member countries | Countries chosen by the sender, or all of them |
| Public list | Some Red Notice extracts are published | Never published |
| Can it be deleted? | Yes, by the Commission | Yes, by the Commission — on the same rules |
Invisible
Why it is almost impossible to find out about it
A diffusion is never published. There is no list to check, and no one informs the person concerned.
It may go only to the countries where the sender expects you to be. You can travel freely to one and be stopped in another.
Many people check only the public notice list, find nothing and conclude they are safe. With a diffusion, that conclusion is wrong.
In practice
The consequences are the same
For the officer who sees it, a diffusion asking for arrest works like a Red Notice.
-
01
Arrest and extradition
If the diffusion asks for arrest, a border check can end in detention and extradition proceedings.
-
02
Questioning at borders
Even a request for information leads to secondary checks and a report on where you are.
-
03
Visas and residence
Consulates and immigration services see the same hit and refuse without explaining why.
Finding it
How a diffusion is discovered
- A data access request to the Commission — the only planned way to find out.
- An incident at a border — the way most people find out, and the worst one.
- Extradition papers served after an arrest.
- Disclosure in national proceedings, such as an asylum or residence case.
Only the first one leaves you time to prepare. How a data access request works.
Deletion
How to get it deleted
A diffusion is subject to the same rules as a notice, and the Commission deletes it on the same grounds.
- the political character of the case;
- a commercial dispute dressed up as a crime;
- proceedings that violate basic fairness;
- evidence too thin for a serious offence.
Because it was not reviewed before it was sent, a diffusion is more likely to contain exactly the defects the rules prohibit. The grounds for deletion in detail.
Next step
Stopped at a border, but nothing on the public list? Send me what happened.
Two records
If there is both a notice and a diffusion
Countries sometimes send a diffusion and request a notice on the same facts. They are separate records.
Deleting one does not automatically delete the other. Both have to be identified and addressed in the request — otherwise the one left behind keeps working.
The access request comes first precisely for this reason: to see everything that is recorded before arguing about any of it.
Your attorney
Who handles your case
Dmytro Konovalenko
- Status
- Attorney-at-law
- Bar Certificate
- No. 001156
- Membership
- International Bar Association
- Focus
- Requests from post-Soviet states
More than five years defending against Red Notices and extradition requests. You work with me directly, from the first assessment to the decision.
Full professional backgroundCan a diffusion lead to arrest?
Yes, if it asks for arrest. Whether a country acts on it depends on its own law, but the risk is real.
Will I find it on the public list?
No. Diffusions are never published. An access request is the way to find out.
Is a diffusion checked at all?
Yes, after it is sent: the General Secretariat reviews diffusions for compliance once they are recorded. That review is no substitute for your own request.
My Red Notice was deleted. Can a diffusion remain?
Yes, if it is a separate record. That is why both are identified and addressed together.
How long does deletion take?
The same as for a notice: the Commission's rules set nine months for a deletion request, counted from admissibility. How the CCF procedure works.