France opens case against Interpol’s UAE president

PARIS: French authorities have opened a case against Interpol’s Emirati president over accusations of torture and arbitrary detention by two Britons who were detained in the UAE, a source close to the inquiry told AFP on Wednesday.

The case into suspected complicity in torture by Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi was confirmed by France’s anti-terror prosecutors office (PNAT), which has handed it to an investigating magistrate who will now decide whether to press charges.

The two Britons, Matthew Hedges and Ali Issa Ahmad, accuse 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.