10 British MPs Call for Excluding UAE Candidate from Interpol Elections

10 British MPs Call for Excluding UAE Candidate from Interpol Elections

10 Members of the British Parliament signed a petition initiated by the International United Nations Watch (IUNW) which stressed the need to make sure that the Interpol most important job is not assumed by United Arab Emirates (UAE) security chief, Ahmed al-Raisi, over serious human rights abuses accusation against him.

The petition added that Al-Raisi’s seeking to become the new head of Interpol sends serious alarms that the Interpol might be led by a person associated with human rights abuses.

Two British citizens have accused the Inspector General in the Ministry of the Interior Ahmed al-Raisi of being responsible for their torture, calling for excluding him from the job. According to Matthew Hedges, a British postgraduate student, he was forced to take drugs while in prison in Dubai on spy charges in 2018. Following a five-minute hearing, Hedges was given a life sentence and was given a pardon later that year.

“The next president of Interpol should know all about the principle of command responsibility and respect the rule of law,” Hedges said. “It’s therefore extremely concerning that the man who was ultimately responsible for my torture and detention is to even be considered for the position of Interpol president.”

Ali Ahmad, another British footballer, who was stabbed in the chest and arms with a knife, hit in the face, thus losing a tooth, suffocated with a plastic bag and his clothes were burned by the security forces. Ahmad noted: “I cannot believe that I need to ask an international police group like Interpol not to elect the person (ultimately) responsible for my torture to become their president,” Ahmad said. “What I suffered in the UAE was very traumatizing and it will scar me for life.”

Al-Raisi also has been accused of misusing the red notice system where It has reportedly been used in the past against individuals who owed debt to UAE banks. Foreigners have found themselves subject to red notices for business disputes, but also smaller offences such as bounced checks and credit card debt.

In light of the above testimonies, it is ironic that the Interpol, which is in charge of seeking and serving justice to the world, might be led by a person who is accused of being responsible for the torture of people who were engaged in normal activities in the UAE, one is academic and the other is a footballer. Interpol should refrain from offering this important job to al-Raisi or any other figure who does not have a clean record, especially in relation to human rights violations.

The signatories called on member states to reject Al-Raisi’s candidacy for his role in human rights violations, vote for the Czech candidate Šárka Havránková who represent human rights values and have a clean record and called on the Interpol to establish a committee to make sure candidates who run for Interpol have a clean human rights record.

Signatories:

1. MP Sandra Lindsay.

2. MP Ben Bradshaw.

3. MP Geraint Davies.

4. Lord RAMSBOTHAM.

5. Lord SWINFEN.

6. MP Tony LLOYD.

7. Lord POPAT.

8. MP Claudia Webbe.

9. Lord RENNARD.

10. Baroness Eaton.