France opens probe against Interpol chief in UAE over torture claim

French investigative judges at the Paris Tribunal have opened an inquiry into torture allegations against Interpol President Major General Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi of the United Arab Emirates.

Major General Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi is accused of involvement in torture and arbitrary detentions in the UAE.

Two British citizens, Matthew Hedges and Ali Issa Ahmad, who had been arrested in the UAE before al-Raisi was elected president of the France-based world police agency, will on Wednesday give evidence against him at the Specialized Judicial Unit for Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes of the Paris Tribunal, their lawyers said.

The two Britons filed a criminal complaint against al-Raisi with the prosecutors of the Paris Tribunal in October last year under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

In January, they filed a criminal complaint directly with the judges of the Tribunal to open an investigation into claims against al-Raisi.

The new Interpol president was on French territory at the time, visiting the international police agency’s headquarters in Lyon.

Al-Raisi was elected for a four-year term as Interpol president in November last year. He has been accused by human rights groups of involvement in torture and arbitrary detentions in the UAE.

The complaint against Raisi, alongside a second complaint in Paris filed by the Gulf Centre for Human Rights over Raisi’s alleged role in the detention and torture of an Emirati rights activist, Ahmed Mansoor, was filed under the principle of universal jurisdiction for grievous crimes.