Dubai – Global police agency Interpol elected Emirati Inspector General Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi as its president on Thursday.
Although the presidency is a part-time role and does not oversee day-to-day operations of the agency, the president is a high profile figure who chairs meetings of Interpol’s assembly and executive committee.
A spokesperson for the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said Raisi “strongly believes that the abuse or mistreatment of people by police is abhorrent and intolerable”.
Responding to questions about Raisi’s candidacy and Interpol’s election process, Secretary General Jurgen Stock said Interpol did not intervene in politics.
“We also do not have the mandate to, for instance, start any investigation on national issues. That is the national sovereignty where we have to stay away,” Stock said this week.
Based on inputs from Reuters.
