Lawyers file torture complaint in Istanbul against UAE candidate for Interpol chief

Turkish lawyers filed a criminal complaint with the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against the UAE’s candidate for Interpol presidency, Major General Dr. Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi, over his involvement in the torture of activists. The complaint comes ahead of the 89th annual meeting of the Interpol General Assembly which will be held on ov. 23–25 in Istanbul.

Wednesday November 17 2021 06:03 pm

This file photo shows Major General Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi, the head of the UAE security forces, addressing an Interpol meeting.

Duvar English

Turkish lawyers have filed a criminal complaint against Major General Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi, the head of the UAE security forces.

The UAE has nominated Al-Raisi as president of the Interpol ahead of the global policing body's summit which will be held in Istanbul this month.

In their criminal complaint filed at the Istanbul's Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, lawyers İlkan Koyuncu, Gizem Rodoplu and Bekir Öksüm said that there was concrete evidence proving that Al-Raisi was responsible for the torture against political opponents, including UAE activist Ahmed Mansur, Turkish daily Cumhuriyet reported on Nov. 17.

The lawyers filed the complaint on behalf of the Gulf Center for Human Rights. The organization had also filed a similar complaint in France earlier this year.

“Al-Raisi is one of the candidates [for the presidency post] in the Interpol General Assembly that will be held on Nov. 24 in Turkey. As he is the subject of various torture-related actions, our client has demanded that a complaint be filed since he will be at the General Assembly in Turkey; in line with this, we filed the complaint,” lawyer Gizem Rodoplu told Cumhuriyet in an interview.

Rodoplu said that it is only if the Turkish Justice Ministry gives the relevant permission that Al-Raisi can be prosecuted in Turkey. The criminal complaint will be sent to the Justice Ministry, which will decide whether to launch an investigation into Al-Raisi or not, the lawyer said.

The 89th Interpol General Assembly will be held between Nov. 23 and 25 in Istanbul and will bring together chiefs of police and senior officials from around the world to address global security issues.

This is the third time that Turkey will host Interpol, with the first two being in 1955 and 1996.

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu will take the stage during the summit, talking about Turkey's "fight against crime."

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE's de facto ruler, is expected to pay a visit to Turkey on Nov. 24 to talk with Turkish President Recep Tayyip.

The planned date of the visit coincides with that of the Interpol General Assembly.