French authorities have opened a case against Interpol president Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi of the United Arab Emirates over accusations of torture and arbitrary detention filed by two Britons who were detained in the country, a source close to the investigation said Wednesday.
Report informs, citing foreign media, that the case into suspected complicity in torture by the top UAE official has been handed by French anti-terror prosecutors to an investigating magistrate who will now decide whether to press charges, the source, who asked not to be named, told AFP.
The two Britons, Matthew Hedges and Ali Issa Ahmad, accuse al-Raisi of having ultimate responsibility – as a senior interior ministry security official – for the torture and arbitrary detention they say they suffered in the UAE.
The source said the investigating magistrate must also decide if al-Raisi, who was elected Interpol president in November, enjoys diplomatic immunity from prosecution in France.
The Britons filed the complaint on the basis of universal jurisdiction, which allows states to prosecute serious crimes even if they were committed on foreign soil.