Paris, Europe Brief News – France has opened a preliminary inquiry into torture and acts of barbarism committed by Emirati General Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi.
Al-Raisi was elected in November as head of Interpol, raising serious human rights concerns.
The probe follows a legal complaint by an NGO, which accused Raisi of torturing an opposition figure when he worked as a top official at the United Arab Emirates interior ministry.
The Gulf Centre for Human rights (GCHR), believing Raisi was one of the people responsible for the torturing of Ahmed Mansoor, an opponent of the Emirati government, lodged its complaint in January with the anti-terror prosecutors unit whose brief includes handling crimes against humanity.
Allegations of torture had already been levelled at Raisi by human rights organisations when he ran for president of Interpol — an international agency for the fight against crime — saying they feared the agency would be at risk of exploitation by repressive regimes.
He was nevertheless voted in as president in November following generous funding from the UAE for the Lyon, France-based body.
Serious Human Rights Concerns
Al-Raisi was under fire since his election in November 2021 for a four-year term over his government’s record of human rights abuses.
Al-Raisi already faces criminal complaints in five countries, including accusations of torturing two Britons.
A British doctoral student accused of spying in 2018 said he faced torture when visiting the UAE in 2019.
Last September, the European Union (EU) legislators have passed a strongly worded resolution concerning the poor human rights record in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The resolution condemned alleged rights violations in the wealthy Gulf stat. It further demanded the “immediate” and unconditional release of Ahmed Mansoor, Mohammed al-Roken and Nasser bin Ghaith.
The EU Parliament also called on the European External Action Service (EEAS) to propose the adoption of EU targeted measures against those responsible for grave human rights violations in the UAE.
The European Parliament further urged the UAE to free several prominent human rights activists and other imprisoned “peaceful dissidents”.
