The president of Interpol is an Emirati general who was accused of torturing a British professor.
General Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi is the head of United Arab Emirates security forces and one of two candidates for this largely ceremonial, but voluntary, role at the organization’s general assembly.
However, his candidacy is being questioned due to allegations that he was involved in human right abuses including kidnappings and torture.
Matthew Hedges, British academic and journalist, stated that he had been detained in UAE between May 2018 to November 2018, after being arrested for false charges of spying on a student trip.
General Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi, the UAE’s head of security forces who has been accused of torture, is standing to become the president of Interpol, the global police agency
He has sued four UAE officials – including Al-Raisi – for £350,000 in damages after being held in ankle cuffs, denied sleep and fed a cocktail of drugs.
Al-Raisi’s endorsement would also send a signal that Interpol is ok to use against critics in foreign countries, as well.
It is fear the practice of giving out so-called ‘red notices’ for wanted suspects would be abused to persecute political dissidents rather than capture war criminals or terrorist fugitives.
Sarka Havrankova from the Czech Republic, who is a retired officer responsible for international cooperation in matters of police and law enforcement, will be standing in Al-Raisi’s place at the Interpol General Assembly in Turkey this year.
Three European Parliament members sent a November 11 letter to Ursula Von der Leyen, stating that General Al-Raisi’s election would damage Interpol’s reputation and undermine its mission.
Matthew Hedges from the UK, a British academic, claimed he was held and tortured in Abu Dhabi between May 2018 and November 2018. He was falsely accused of spying during a trip to study. He is suing Al-Raisi and three other officials for £350,000 in damages (pictured with his wife Daniela Tejada)
While the position of president is symbolic, endorsement of the general by the group’s 195 members ‘would send a signal to other authoritarian governments’ that using Interpol to pursue critics abroad ‘is okay’, said Edward Lemon, an assistant professor specialising in transnational repression at Texas A&M University.
Human Rights Watch was one of 19 non-governmental organizations that expressed concern over Raisi’s possible selection. They described Raisi as “part of an apparatus that continues to target peaceful critics” in October 2020.
In recent months, complaints of torture were brought against the general in France and Turkey. The assembly is being held in Istanbul.
One of the complainants Mr Hedges said that he was held and tortured in the United Arab Emirates between May 2018 and November 2018. He was falsely accused of spying during a student trip.
General Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi (also the inspector general at UAE’s interior ministry) was seen in Istanbul, attending Interpol’s general assembly. There he stood for the presidency
In papers filed at the High Court in London back in May, Mr Hedges claimed damages against Al-Raisi and three other officials for assault, false imprisonment and psychiatric injury.
Mr Hedges, originally from Exeter, was sentenced to life imprisonment but was pardoned by the nation’s president just days later.
He previously told of how he was interrogated for as much as 15 hours per day, and then forced to wear ankle cuffs throughout his ordeal.
According to the Durham University doctoral student, he also suffered from insomnia and PTSD. He was dependent on drugs that were given him while in prison.
According to court documents, Mr Hedges is expecting to recover between £200,000 and £350,000 in damages.
Hedges was not subject to psychological or physical abuse during detention, according to the UAE.
Mr Hedges is claiming damages against four UAE officials, including Major General Ahmed Naser Ahmed Alrais Al-Raisi (left) and the commander in chief of the emirate’s police force, Major General Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi (right)
Another complaint was filed by lawyers for Gulf Centre for Human Rights. They accuse Ahmed Mansoor, Emirati general, of “acts of torture or barbarism” against him.
Mansoor, 43-square-foot, has been held in detention since 2017, according to lawyers.
Raisi has not been subject to these complaints.
Jurgen Stock is Interpol’s Secretary General. He manages the day to day management of Interpol and told journalists that he was aware of the accusations.
Stock who received a second 5-year term for 2019, said: “It will be Thursday that the Interpol member countries decide” whether Raisi should take the title.
Since the arrest in 2018 of Meng Hongwei, his predecessor from China, South Korean Kim Jong-yang is the president of the organization. He had previously served as a vice ministre of public safety.
Mathieu Delflem (sociology professor, University of South Carolina) said that Raisi’s ambiguous reputation, whether it is deserved, was an important element of Interpol.
Sir David Calvert Smith, a former British director for public prosecutions, published a March report that concluded the UAE had hijacked red notices (international wanted notices) to exert pressure on their opponents.
If he is elected on Thursday, Raisi would ‘likely work with like-minded governments to stymie reform efforts pushing for greater transparency in Interpol’, Texas A&M’s Lemon said.
Lemon claimed that $54million (48 million euro) was donated by the UAE to Interpol 2017; this amount is nearly equal to the contribution required from all 195 countries of the Organisation. In 2020, this amount was $68million (60 millions euros).
Interpol was given or promised by the UAE around 10 million euro in 2019, roughly seven percent of its total annual budget.
Lemon explained that too much funding could reduce other members’ influence over the organization.
In 2018, the General Assembly was hosted by Emirates. He stated that he would host it again in 2020.
Covid delayed the meeting and it was eventually moved to Turkey. However, Recep Takyip Erdogan’s government is still facing accusations of mass detentions as well as abuse of trials process and repression.
Czech candidate Havrankova thinks these are serious allegations that could hinder her opponent’s victory.
She said, “I’m trying to offer the alternative.”
“It is up to the delegations how they would like their organization to run.”