LONDON (Middle East Eye) – Two British citizens who say they were arbitrarily detained and tortured in Emirati custody have filed a lawsuit against United Arab Emirates’ police chief, Major General Ahmed Naser al-Raisi, in a Turkish court.
Raisi is expected to be elected as Interpol’s new president following a vote in Istanbul on Thursday. He was elected as the Asia delegate for the international police service in 2018.
“We have evidence that al-Raisi was involved in torture,” Rodney Dixon QC, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said in an Istanbul press conference. “We’re organizing this press meeting at the hotel where he [al-Raisi] is staying.”
“The UAE has done absolutely nothing following investigation requests from the attorney as well as from the UK government. The UAE has ignored all requests,” he added.
Raisi’s nomination for Interpol’s presidency has raised concerns among human rights groups. As a senior police chief in the UAE, he has been accused and implicated in various abuses by the Emirati security forces.
One of the detainees, British academic Matthew Hedges, was held by UAE police while conducting research in May 2018. He was accused of spying for the UK, a close Emirati ally.
Then aged 31, Hedges claims he was held in a cell, beaten, tortured, abused verbally, given tranquilizsers and eventually forced to sign a false confession.
“I still don’t know what offences were charged on me,” he told journalists.
The other plaintiff, Ali Issa Ahmad, was detained by UAE security forces while watching a football game as he holidayed in the country. Ahmad was wearing a Qatari shirt when he was arrested, at a time when the UAE was blockading its Persian Gulf neighbor.
In 2017, the UAE pledged $56mn to Interpol, approximately a third of the force’s annual budget. Several human rights groups accused the UAE of trying to buy influence.