“Human Rights Watch” and “Gulf Center for Human Rights” said Thursday, that the nomination of a prominent official in the UAE Ministry of Interior, “Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi” for the position of head of the International Criminal Police Organization “Interpol”, is another attempt by the UAE to buy international respect and polish its dismal human rights record. It may threaten the human rights obligations of the World Police Organization.
The Executive Director of the Gulf Center for Human Rights, Khaled Ibrahim, said that choosing Al-Raisi as president of INTERPOL would show that the member states of the organization do not have any concern whatsoever about the UAE’s record of persecuting peaceful critics.
Major General Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi has held a high position in the UAE Ministry of Interior, and has been the Inspector General, since April 2015, which makes him responsible, among other things, for investigating complaints against the police and security forces. The UAE state security services have a long record of multiple violations.
In the same context, the Deputy Middle East Director of the organization “Joe Stark” added, “If Interpol selects again a senior official from a violating government institution to be the president, the agency will jeopardize its credibility as an international law enforcement organization that respects rights.”
For his part, the former Director of Public Prosecutions in the United Kingdom, David Calvert Smith, said that the election of Al-Raisi “will send a message to the world that Interpol has little or no respect for human rights and will turn a blind eye to torture and oppression.”
