New Interpol prez is accused of torture

The French lawyer for a jailed human-rights defender in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday filed a torture complaint against the new president of Interpol, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi, as the official made his first visit to the international police agency’s headquarters in Lyon.

William Bourdon, a lawyer for the Emirati human-rights defender and blogger Ahmed Mansour, said he filed the complaint against al-Raisi in a Paris court under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Al-Raisi was elected for a four-year term as Interpol president in November. He has been accused by humanrights groups of involvement in torture and arbitrary detentions in the UAE.

Al-Raisi announced on Twitter Monday that, “with the start of the new year, I begin today my first visit to Lyon, France, as the president of Interpol.” Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock welcomed him.

Mansour is serving a 10-year sentence in the UAE for charges of “insulting the status and prestige of the UAE” and its leaders on social media.

The UAE has denied allegations against al-Raisi.