Grace Meng, wife of missing former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei, applied for asylum in France fearing for her life, her lawyer said on Friday, reports Reuters.
The boss of Lyon-based Interpol went missing in September after traveling back to his native China. France opened an inquiry and China said he was under investigation for bribery.
No word has been heard from Meng since a WhatsApp message to his wife on September 25th saying “wait for my call”.
The website of France Info radio station quoted her on Friday as saying that in recent weeks in Lyon she has been followed by strangers, received suspicious phone calls, and had her car license plates photographed by mysterious people.
“I need the French government to protect, to assist and help me and my children,” she told France Info.
“I am afraid I may be kidnapped.”
Her lawyer Emmanuel Marsigny told Reuters she had recently applied for asylum after being under police protection since soon after her husband’s disappearance.
Meng, a deputy minister of public security in China, became president of Interpol in late 2016 amid a broader effort by China to secure leadership posts in international organizations.
Presidents of the international police organization are seconded from their national administrations.
Interpol, which groups 192 countries and is usually focused on finding missing or wanted people, is run on a day-to-day basis by its secretary general Juergen Stock.