Interpol elects UAE official as president despite rights groups' concerns
Global police agency Interpol elected Emirati Inspector General Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi as its president on Thursday, despite accusations from rights groups that he failed to act on allegations of torture of detainees in the United Arab Emirates.
An Emirati general accused of torture was elected president of Interpol Thursday, despite the concerns of human rights organisations who fear the agency will be at risk of exploitation by repressive regimes. FRANCE 24's Jasper Mortimer tells us more.
Interpol success throws spotlight on high-flying Emirati general
Interpol's new president has lived a life rich in awards and achievements, but none has attracted such controversy as his latest success which was accompanied by allegations of torture.
Interpol's new president has lived a life rich in awards and achievements, but none has attracted such controversy as his latest success which was accompanied by allegations of torture.
© Ozan KOSE Interpol's new president, Emirati General Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi, speaks on the phone during the organisation's general assembly in Istanbul
Emirati General Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi always looked favourite to win Thursday's vote over veteran Czech police officer Sarka Havrankova, and he duly delivered 68.9 percent of the votes cast by member countries.
It is far from the only success for a man who became head of the United Arab Emirates' security forces in 2015 and has held several high-level police positions, including general director of central operations in the Abu Dhabi force.
Raisi's website portrays a man with a wide smile, often in highly decorated uniform or Arab dress, receiving medals and trophies from Gambia, Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Italy.
Raisi became an Emirati police cadet in 1980 and is a member of Interpol's executive committee. He has a PhD from Britain's London Metropolitan University and was involved in technological advances such as the introduction of facial recognition in UAE.
But while Raisi is undoubtedly well known in international police circles, it is his ascension to symbolic head of the world body that has thrust him into the global spotlight.
In October 2020, 19 NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, expressed concern about the possible choice of Raisi, who they described as "part of a security apparatus that continues to systematically target peaceful critics".
Complaints of "torture" were filed against the general in recent months in France and Turkey, which is hosting the general assembly in Istanbul this week.
One of the complainants, British national Matthew Hedges, said he was detained and tortured between May and November 2018 in the United Arab Emirates, after he was arrested on false charges of espionage during a study trip.
In another complaint, lawyers for the Gulf Centre for Human Rights accuse the Emirati general of "acts of torture and barbarism" committed against government critic Ahmed Mansoor.
- 'Police abuse is abhorrent' -
The complaints have not resulted in any formal proceedings against Raisi, who offered a swift riposte to his critics after his victory.
"I will... continue to reaffirm a core tenet of our profession -- that police abuse or mistreatment of any kind is abhorrent and intolerable," he said in a statement.
The general added that he would work "to prevent inappropriate influence that would undermine or compromise Interpol's essential mission".
The Lyon, France-based body has been facing accusations that Interpol's system of so-called "red notices" for wanted suspects has been abused to persecute political dissidents.
According to Edward Lemon, an assistant professor specialising in transnational repression at Texas A&M University, the resource-rich UAE donated $54 million (48 million euros) to Interpol in 2017, and about 10 million euros in 2019.
Raisi's election was quickly supported by UAE heavyweight Anwar Gargash, a former UAE minister of state for foreign affairs who alleged a "smear" campaign against the new Interpol president.
"The organised and intense smear and defamation campaign has been crushed on the rock of truth, for reality is not obscured by lies," tweeted Gargash, who advises the country's president.
Raisi said he was "fully dedicated to making people and communities safer".
"Over the past 40 years from a police cadet to now, as president of Interpol, this simple principle has driven and guided me."
Emirati General Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi always looked favourite to win Thursday's vote over veteran Czech police officer Sarka Havrankova, and he duly delivered 68.9 percent of the votes cast by member countries.
It is far from the only success for a man who became head of the United Arab Emirates' security forces in 2015 and has held several high-level police positions, including general director of central operations in the Abu Dhabi force.
Raisi's website portrays a man with a wide smile, often in highly decorated uniform or Arab dress, receiving medals and trophies from Gambia, Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Italy.
Raisi became an Emirati police cadet in 1980 and is a member of Interpol's executive committee. He has a PhD from Britain's London Metropolitan University and was involved in technological advances such as the introduction of facial recognition in UAE.
But while Raisi is undoubtedly well known in international police circles, it is his ascension to symbolic head of the world body that has thrust him into the global spotlight.
In October 2020, 19 NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, expressed concern about the possible choice of Raisi, who they described as "part of a security apparatus that continues to systematically target peaceful critics".
Complaints of "torture" were filed against the general in recent months in France and Turkey, which is hosting the general assembly in Istanbul this week.
One of the complainants, British national Matthew Hedges, said he was detained and tortured between May and November 2018 in the United Arab Emirates, after he was arrested on false charges of espionage during a study trip.
In another complaint, lawyers for the Gulf Centre for Human Rights accuse the Emirati general of "acts of torture and barbarism" committed against government critic Ahmed Mansoor.
- 'Police abuse is abhorrent' -
The complaints have not resulted in any formal proceedings against Raisi, who offered a swift riposte to his critics after his victory.
"I will... continue to reaffirm a core tenet of our profession -- that police abuse or mistreatment of any kind is abhorrent and intolerable," he said in a statement.
The general added that he would work "to prevent inappropriate influence that would undermine or compromise Interpol's essential mission".
The Lyon, France-based body has been facing accusations that Interpol's system of so-called "red notices" for wanted suspects has been abused to persecute political dissidents.
According to Edward Lemon, an assistant professor specialising in transnational repression at Texas A&M University, the resource-rich UAE donated $54 million (48 million euros) to Interpol in 2017, and about 10 million euros in 2019.
Raisi's election was quickly supported by UAE heavyweight Anwar Gargash, a former UAE minister of state for foreign affairs who alleged a "smear" campaign against the new Interpol president.
"The organised and intense smear and defamation campaign has been crushed on the rock of truth, for reality is not obscured by lies," tweeted Gargash, who advises the country's president.
Raisi said he was "fully dedicated to making people and communities safer".
"Over the past 40 years from a police cadet to now, as president of Interpol, this simple principle has driven and guided me."
UAE general elected head of Interpol comes under fire by human rights groups
By Jake Thomas
NOV. 25, 2021
Maj. Gen. Dr. Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi was elected head of Interpol Thursday despite criticisms of his human rights record. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The newly elected head of a global police agency has come under criticism for turning a blind eye to reports of torture while serving as a general for the United Arab Emirates.
Maj. Gen. Dr. Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi was elected president of Interpol on Thursday with 68.9% of votes cast after three rounds of voting by member countries during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. The position is part-time and unpaid.
After his election, Raisi said on Twitter that he would "build a more transparent, diverse, and decisive organization that works to ensure safety for all."
During the spring, Human Rights Watch and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights spoke out against Raisi's candidacy for the position. The groups argued that as inspector general at the UAE Interior Ministry he failed to investigate credible complaints of tortute of and other human rights abuses committed by security forces against peaceful critics of the government.
"A sad day for human rights and the rule of law worldwide, when a representative of arguably the most authoritarian government in the Gulf, one that equates peaceful dissent with terrorism, is elected to head the only police organization that spans the entire globe," Hiba Zayadin, Human Rights Watch gulf reseacher, said on Twitter following his election.
The UAE pushed back on the criticism. In a statement to the BBC the country's foreign ministry said Raisi "strongly believes that the abuse or mistreatment by police is abhorrent and intolerable." In another statement, he called the UAE "one of the world's safest places" that continues to be the "most important force for positive change in the world's most difficult region."
Lawyers for the Gulf Centre for Human Rights have recently brought legal actions against Raisi in Turkey and France, accusing him of being involved in the unlawful arrest and torture of Ahmed Mansoor, a the UAE's most prominent human rights activist, the BBC reports.
bur/th/dv
By Jake Thomas
NOV. 25, 2021
Maj. Gen. Dr. Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi was elected head of Interpol Thursday despite criticisms of his human rights record. Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The newly elected head of a global police agency has come under criticism for turning a blind eye to reports of torture while serving as a general for the United Arab Emirates.
Maj. Gen. Dr. Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi was elected president of Interpol on Thursday with 68.9% of votes cast after three rounds of voting by member countries during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. The position is part-time and unpaid.
After his election, Raisi said on Twitter that he would "build a more transparent, diverse, and decisive organization that works to ensure safety for all."
During the spring, Human Rights Watch and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights spoke out against Raisi's candidacy for the position. The groups argued that as inspector general at the UAE Interior Ministry he failed to investigate credible complaints of tortute of and other human rights abuses committed by security forces against peaceful critics of the government.
"A sad day for human rights and the rule of law worldwide, when a representative of arguably the most authoritarian government in the Gulf, one that equates peaceful dissent with terrorism, is elected to head the only police organization that spans the entire globe," Hiba Zayadin, Human Rights Watch gulf reseacher, said on Twitter following his election.
The UAE pushed back on the criticism. In a statement to the BBC the country's foreign ministry said Raisi "strongly believes that the abuse or mistreatment by police is abhorrent and intolerable." In another statement, he called the UAE "one of the world's safest places" that continues to be the "most important force for positive change in the world's most difficult region."
Lawyers for the Gulf Centre for Human Rights have recently brought legal actions against Raisi in Turkey and France, accusing him of being involved in the unlawful arrest and torture of Ahmed Mansoor, a the UAE's most prominent human rights activist, the BBC reports.
bur/th/dv
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/260577 · PDF file
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