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Main Normal Ahmed Naser al-Raisi, inspector basic on the United Arab Emirates’ inside ministry and a member of Interpol’s govt committee, was elected for one four-year time period
Interpol on Thursday elected a contentious official from the United Arab Emirates as its new president in the course of the worldwide legislation enforcement physique’s annual Normal Meeting held in Istanbul.
Main Normal Ahmed Naser al-Raisi, inspector basic on the United Arab Emirates’ inside ministry and a member of Interpol’s govt committee, was elected for one four-year time period, the worldwide policing physique introduced. He has been accused by human rights teams of involvement in torture and arbitrary detentions within the UAE.
Interpol mentioned Mr. Al-Raisi was elected following three rounds of voting and acquired 68.9% of the votes solid within the remaining spherical.
“It’s an honor to have been elected to function the subsequent president of Interpol,” the worldwide police company quoted Mr. Al-Raisi as saying.
“Interpol is an indispensable group constructed on the energy of its partnerships. It’s this collaborative spirit, united in mission, that I’ll proceed to foster as we work to make a safer world for folks and communities.,” he mentioned.
The vote for president was being carefully watched for the reason that first-ever Chinese language president of the physique, Meng Hongwei, vanished halfway by way of his four-year time period on a return journey to China in 2018. It subsequently emerged that he had been detained, accused of bribery and different alleged crimes.
The worldwide legislation enforcement physique additionally mentioned Valdecy Urquiza of Brazil was elected to the put up of Vice President for the Americas, whereas Garba Baba Umar of Nigeria was elected vp for Africa.
Mr. Al-Raisi is accused of torture and has prison complaints towards him in 5 international locations, together with in France, the place Interpol has its headquarters, and in Turkey, the place the election was held.
His election drew indignant responses from two Britons who filed the complaints.
“This can be a unhappy day for worldwide justice and world policing,” mentioned Matthew Hedges, a British doctoral pupil who was imprisoned within the UAE for practically seven months in 2018 on spying prices.
“I actually worry about what this implies for folks like myself who’ve been abused by the hands of the UAE and compelled to make false confessions below torture,” he mentioned in an emailed assertion. Mr. Hedges says he was subjected to torture and months of solitary confinement with out entry to a lawyer.
Mr. Al-Raisi has run a slick marketing campaign for the presidential put up, touring the world to fulfill lawmakers and authorities officers and boasting educational levels from the U.Ok. and the U.S. and years of expertise of policing.
He has mentioned in a LinkedIn put up that the UAE prioritizes “the safety of human rights at residence and overseas.”
Mr. Al-Raisi replaces Kim Jong Yan from South Korea, a vp who was swiftly elected as a alternative to serve out the remainder of Meng’s time period. Mr. Kim’s presidency was because of finish in 2020, however his tenure has been prolonged by a 12 months after the coronavirus pandemic prompted Interpol to scrap its annual meeting final 12 months.
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