French anti-terror prosecutors have opened a preliminary inquiry into Interpol chief Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi over allegations he took part in the torture and abuse of prisoners when he was a top official at the UAE's Interior Ministry.
The probe follows a legal complaint by the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), which accused Raisi of overseeing the torture of jailed opposition figure Ahmed Mansoor.
The complaint was lodged in January with the French anti-terror prosecutors unit, whose brief includes handling crimes against humanity.
Allegations of torture had already been levelled by human rights organisations at Raisi when he ran for president of Interpol.
He was nevertheless voted into the role in November, following intense lobbying and generous funding by the UAE.
'Incomprehensible'
Interpol's headquarters are in the southern French city of Lyon.
William Bourdon, a high-profile lawyer acting for the GCHR, said it was "totally incomprehensible" that the prosecutors had not immediately ordered Raisi's arrest which, he said, "they should have done given that he is in France".
The accusations were a sufficient motive to lift Raisa's diplomatic immunity, which he enjoys thanks to an agreement between the French state and Interpol, Bourdon said.
GCHR boss Khalid Ibrahim told AFP that Raisa had been interviewed by French police on 18 March.
French prosecutors had rejected two previous complaints against Raisi on competency grounds, saying they could not prosecute unless the accused resided in France, permanently or temporarily.
But in its latest filing, the GCHR was able to show that Raisi was in Lyon in January and again in March, using his activity on Twitter as evidence.
$54 million donation for Interpol
Raisi was elected following three rounds of voting during which he received 68.9 percent of votes cast by Interpol member countries.
The UAE donated $54 million to Interpol in 2017 – almost equivalent to the required contributions of all the organisation's 195 member countries, which amounted to $68 million in 2020.
Although his four-year role at Interpol is largely ceremonial, rights groups and former torture victims warned his appointment would damage the international policy body.
They argued that the organisation's red notice system – whereby member states can alert others that an individual's arrest is sought – would be open to abuse by repressive regimes.
His candidacy for the Interpol job prompted a series of protests, including from European Parliament deputies.
In a previous complaint against Raisi, British man Matthew Hedges said he was detained and tortured between May and November 2018 in the UAE after being arrested on false charges of espionage during a study trip.
Mansoor, meanwhile, has been detained since 2017 in a four-square-metre cell "without a mattress or protection against the cold" and "without access to a doctor, hygiene, water and sanitary facilities", while serving a 10-year sentence for allegedly threatening state security, his lawyers say.
The watchdog Human Rights Watch has reported the alleged abuse and called for his release.
The UAE's Foreign Ministry has rejected the complaints over Mansoor's detention conditions, saying they are "without foundation".
(with AFP)
