Ben Keith writes for The Times | Syria’s re-engagement with Interpol is a cause for serious concern
Ben Keith comments in The Times on 21 March 2024. A photograph last week depicted a meeting between Ahmed Naser al-Raisi, the president of Interpol and a senior police officer in the UAE, with Mohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun, Syria’s interior minister. Al-Rahmoun has been sanctioned by the EU, UK, US and Canada over the alleged harshness of the Syrian government’s tactics during the country’s civil war, involving claims of torture, disappearances and murder. Al-Raisi faces accusations of complicity in torture with legal complaints filed against him in France and Austria by Matthew Hedges, a British academic, and Ali Issa Ahmed, a torture victim. These allegations stand in stark contrast to the expectations of integrity and human rights adherence essential for Interpol . Just before al-Raisi’s election as Interpol’s president in 2021, concerns about his candidacy emerged following torture accusations made against him. The report examined the UAE’s troubling donation of €50 mil...