Interpol elects United Arab Emirates official as president

By AYSE WIETING and SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press

ISTANBUL (AP) — Interpol has elected a contentious official from the United Arab Emirates as its new president during the international law enforcement body’s annual General Assembly held in Istanbul. Maj. Gen. Ahmed Naser al-Raisi is the inspector general at the United Arab Emirates’ interior ministry. He was elected by Interpol for one four-year term. He has been accused by human rights groups of involvement in torture and arbitrary detentions in the UAE. The vote for president was being closely watched since the first-ever Chinese president of the body vanished midway through his four-year term on a return trip to China in 2018. It subsequently emerged that he had been detained. He had been accused of bribery and other alleged crimes.