Yuriy L. Nemets

Yuriy is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, from which he received his Juris Doctor (JD) and Master of Laws (LLM) degrees, and Moscow State Law Academy (Russia), from which he received his first law degree and his Ph.D. in law. Yuriy has practiced law for over twenty years. Before he founded NEMETS, he worked at one of the most prominent litigation law firms in the United States, ranked top 30 by Vault Law 100, and at one of the most distinguished law firms in Russia. Yuriy also worked as an in-house counsel at Yukos, one of the world’s largest privately owned energy companies at the time, where he successfully headed the company’s litigation and recoveries department. Yuriy specializes in representing the victims of INTERPOL abuse, in international extradition matters, domestic and international litigation and arbitration, cross-border investments, international trade, transportation, corporate, banking and intellectual property law. Yuriy is actively involved in academic life. His articles about INTERPOL abuse and the rights of individuals on the international wanted list as well as about intellectual property, banking and defamation law are published in authoritative law reviews. 

In addition to representing individuals before the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL's Files, Yuriy also testifies as an expert witness on the subject of INTERPOL abuse in courts in the United States and the European Union. At the request of the United States Helsinki Commission, Yuriy has drafted amendments to INTERPOL’s rules necessary to protect the rights of individuals on the international wanted list and amendments to the United States laws and regulations necessary to stop the practice of using INTERPOL Red Notices and diffusions as evidence against individuals in immigration and extradition cases. Several of Yuriy's proposals have become part of the Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention Act (the TRAP Act) adopted by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Biden. Yuriy has been interviewed about INTERPOL abuse by many major media outlets, including Ahval News, Al Jazeera, The Atlantic, BBC, Coda Story, The Diplomat, El Pais, EU Observer, Forbes, The Independent, Jyllands-Posten, Middle East Eye, The New Arab, and Wprost, and he has been consulted by scholars and reporters writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Sky News, Foreign Affairs, The National Interest and the Journal of Democracy.

Yuriy is the founder and author of Red Notice Abuse Report, a popular blog about the rights of individuals on the INTERPOL wanted list, frequently cited in scholarly and media publications. He regularly participates in panels dedicated to the problem of INTERPOL abuse under the aegis of the American Bar Association. He is a co-founder of Lawyers Against Transnational Repression, an international working group that advocates for the rights of individuals targeted by government requests disseminated via INTERPOL's channels as well as by requests for international extradition and mutual legal assistance.

Yuriy is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and New York.