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Two Britons have filed charges against the president of Interpol for "torture" and "arbitrary arrest". The head of Interpol, Ahmed Naser al-Raisi, is expected to visit Vienna for the general assembly of the international organization.
"We hope that the Austrian authorities will investigate these serious allegations," said the lawyer of the two Britons, Rodney Dixon.
The lawsuit is based on the principle of "international jurisdiction" that allows local authorities to initiate legal investigations against a foreign national for an offense committed in another country. A spokeswoman for Vienna's public prosecutor's office said the two men's appeal was being reviewed to determine whether Austria had jurisdiction to extradite al-Raishi, who is from the United Arab Emirates.
Detective Matthew Hedges and Ali Isa Ahmad, a private police officer, were arrested in the United Arab Emirates in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The former, who taught at the University of Exeter in southwest England, told AFP last year that he was arrested after an educational trip. He spent seven months in prison, in "terrible" conditions. He spent much of his time in solitary confinement and received "threats of violence" to confess to being a British intelligence agent. After his confession, which he said was coerced, he was sentenced to life in prison for espionage in November 2018. Due to international pressure, he was pardoned about a week after his sentence.
Ali Isa Ahmad, who is a football fan, claims he was arrested after wearing a Qatar shirt, then in opposition to the United Arab Emirates, during the Asian Cup. He said he was held for about three weeks and stabbed and punched.
Both believe that Raisi is responsible because at the time he was the inspector general of the interior ministry of the United Arab Emirates.
France, which has also been sued as Interpol is based in Lyon, opened an investigation in March 2022 against Rais for "collaboration in torture".
The two Britons have also filed lawsuits in other countries, such as Norway, Sweden and Turkey.
Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi was elected head of Interpol, an honorary post with no substantive powers, in November 2021, despite protests from human rights groups.
The lawsuit filed today also relates to the case of Ahmed Jaffa Mohammed Ali, a "dissident" from Bahrain who has been held in prison since January 2022. Ali was convicted of "terrorism-related offenses" and was arrested in Serbia after he submitted a request for asylum, because a "red notice" was issued against him by Interpol. He was then extradited to his home country.
"Interpol is not involved in the process of deporting a person. Our role is to issue notifications on behalf of our member countries," said its secretary general, Jürgen Stock.
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