British academic files torture complaint against UAE Interpol chief

It was alleged that two British citizens were detained and tortured. United Arab Emirates Scottish police file criminal complaint against UAE president of Interpol when it comes Glasgow For the security agency’s annual meeting this week.

Academic Matthew Hedges And Ali Isa Ahmed I blamed Interpol President Ahmed Naser Al Raisi They were accused of overseeing torture in detention facilities, where they were imprisoned for months on dubious charges.

Al Raisi is the Gulf state’s top police chief and is currently in the UK to attend the global crime agency’s annual General Assembly meeting in Glasgow on Monday.

Raisi, who serves as inspector general at the UAE interior ministry, is already facing a problem Criminal investigation in France Hedges and Ahmad sued two years ago over the same allegations that he was complicit in torture in UAE prisons, a charge he denies.

Hedges was accused of espionage and arrested in 2018 after a two-week research trip for his doctoral studies at Durham University. high profile case.

He said he was held in solitary confinement, forced to make false confessions, threatened with physical violence and witnessed torture. New Arab At a parliamentary event on Thursday to discuss the UK government’s role in ensuring accountability for alleged abuses by the Emirati state.

The United Arab Emirates government formally pardoned him later that year, following pressure from the British government after he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Twenty-eight-year-old Ahmed was brutally beaten by police officers and detained for wearing a mask. Qatar football jersey On a trip to the UAE in January 2019. His lawyers say he was electrocuted, beaten and deprived of food, water and sleep before he was released.

Hedges, who now works at the University of Exeter, said: New Arab He said Thursday that he has suffered health problems from his incarceration, including addiction to medications prescribed to him in prison. He believes the British government was slow to intervene in his arrest out of concern about disturbing officials in oil-rich Emitates.

The UK government is pursuing a major Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, and is trying to secure a cross-sector deal that could bring in more than a billion in revenue. It brings pounds into the UK economy every year.

British Foreign Office They formally apologized last year for their handling of Hedges’ arrest, which they said failed to recognize signs of abuse.

Although he welcomed the apology at the time, Hedges said on Thursday that the idea of ​​the UAE being held accountable by British authorities for its mistreatment was “absolutely a pipe dream”.

Human rights groups and some parliamentarians are calling on the UK government to consider sanctions against Emirati individuals accused of abuses and for ministers to ensure the FTA with the Gulf Cooperation Council is linked to improvements in civil liberties and workers’ rights.

The criminal complaint against the Emirati casts a shadow over the annual meeting of the top international crime body and adds to existing debates over his appointment as head of the global police force in 2021. German police chief Jürgen Stock, who runs the day-to-day affairs, became Interpol’s general secretary.

His term expires at the end of next year, but support is growing. Al Raisi He will run for a second term through an amendment to the Interpol charter.

Fellow Gulf nation Bahrain is also reportedly one of the key members pushing for change.

Complaints against Al Raisi in Scotland and France fall under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows states to arrest and prosecute people on their territory involved in serious crimes such as torture, genocide or crimes against humanity, regardless of where the crime takes place. dead.

Lawyers for Hedges and Ahmad hope Scottish police will take action against Al Raisi while he is in Glasgow. The police chief could not be questioned by a French judge in June 2023 due to a lawsuit filed after Al Raisi went to Interpol headquarters in Lyon.

Rodney Dixon KC, the lawyer representing Hedges and Ahmad, said suspects such as Al Raisi had passed through countries without facing any consequences for a “very long” period.

“It is ironic that he is now serving as head of the international police force and is seeking to extend his term,” Dixon said in written comments. he said.

Both Hedges and Ahmad are in Glasgow and are urging Scottish police to act on the evidence provided by the pair.

Ahmad said: “Since my release the UAE has done nothing to hold accountable whoever did this to me. Instead Al Raisi comes to Glasgow to walk around as someone who stands to end crime. Nothing could be further from the truth. His actions and “They need to be brought to justice for their inaction.”

Interpol described the complaints against Al Raisi as “an issue between the parties involved” and sought to downplay the president’s role in the agency as “part-time and unpaid” in his comments. New Arab.

The New Arab reached out to Interpol and the UAE Ministry of Internal Affairs but did not receive a response at the time of publication.