by British student Matthew Hedges was about to board a plane back to the UK from Dubai airport when he was suddenly arrested by Emirati authorities, accusing him of being a spy.
It was May 5, 2018, and the PhD student had just finished a research trip for his doctorate on aspects of the United Arab Emirates’ foreign and domestic security strategy.
While there, an Emirati man apparently reported him to the authorities for “asking sensitive questions about some sensitive departments” and “trying to collect classified information on the UAE”.
Mr Hedges was then accused of working for MI6 and of “spying for or on behalf of” the UK government, a charge which the then head of the secret service, Sir Alex Younger, denied. personal.
For almost eight months afterwards, the academic says he was interrogated for up to 15 hours a day, force-fed a cocktail of medication, kept in a windowless room without a bed and denied regular access to the British embassy and his some lawyers. He suffered panic attacks and was subjected to intense psychological pressure, before being sentenced to life imprisonment.
It was after intense lobbying, albeit delayed by the UK government, international outcry and a forced confession that Mr Hedges was pardoned and released on 26 November 2018, the country’s National Day. The UAE called it “gracious mercy”.
Mr Hedges said his ordeal left him with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. He is still taking drugs seven years later as a result of being fed medication.
Two months after Mr Hedges was pardoned, UAE authorities detained another Briton, Ali Issa Ahmad, then 26. The Sudanese-born football fan was arrested in January 2019 after security officials accused him of wearing a Qatari football shirt, not knowing it was done so. it is an offense in the UAE punishable by a heavy fine and an extended prison sentence.
For about three weeks, he says he was beaten, cut and burned by police officers, and held in a security facility. While in detention, he was electrocuted, beaten, and repeatedly deprived of food, water, and sleep. An attempt was made to kill him by stabbing.
“I thought those were my last moments,” he says.
UAE officials claimed Mr Ahmad had harmed himself and accused him of making false statements and wasting police time. He was convicted without a fair trial, then released on 12 February.
Their cases are just two of the “numerous” allegations against the UAE state security system of abuse and torture of prisoners, regardless of their innocence.
Joey Shea, a researcher with Human Rights Watch who focuses on the UAE and Saudi Arabia, says the allegations they have documented include forced disappearances, prolonged solitary confinement, torture, physical assault, abuse and the use of very loud music to stop prisoners from falling. asleep
On Monday, the man responsible for the state security services and the police forces who carried out this torture, and who has been accused since then, will come to the UK to investigate both cases.
Mr Hedges and Mr Ahmad are calling for his arrest.
Major General Ahmed Naser Al Raisi, who was educated at the University of Cambridge and received a doctorate from the City University of London, will be in Glasgow on Monday for the annual general assembly of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
He is the director of the organization, having been elected in November 2021 despite significant opposition. Four years earlier, the UAE donated $54 million (£42m) to Interpol, almost equal to the required contributions from all 195 member states of the organization in 2020, which amounted to $68m.
Ms Shea says the appointment was “a clear part of the UAE’s wider strategy to whitewash its reputation and human rights record”.
“His position in that role speaks volumes about Interpol’s commitment to human rights,” she says.
When went The Independent of Mr Raisi’s appointment in relation to the allegations against him, an Interpol spokesman described the matters as “a matter between the parties involved”.
Three months after the appointment, French prosecutors opened a preliminary inquiry into torture and acts of barbarism alleged to have been committed by Mr Raisi in relation to the cases of Mr Hedges and Mr Ahmad. The UAE has previously denied the allegations.
After Mr Raisi appeared in Lyon, where Interpol is headquartered, the major general was summoned to appear before a French judge for questioning in June 2023.
He failed to show up for that date. A day later, the judge resumed interviews with the two Britons, and more evidence was provided to help prosecute the Interpol director.
If he visits France again, the judge may ask him to compel him to give his evidence. Furthermore, they could seek an international arrest warrant.
But before Mr Raisi arrives in Glasgow, Mr Hedges and Mr Ahmad are demanding that Police Scotland follow suit and open their own investigation.
“The torture that I suffered, the sets of abuses that other people have suffered in the UAE is under the direction of Mr. Raisi,” says Mr. Hedges. “Any failures that happen, it’s the person who oversees that.”
Both have lodged a criminal complaint with supporting evidence to Police Scotland against Mr Raisi. It was filed under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which enables states to arrest and prosecute those involved in torture on their territory, regardless of where the crimes are committed.
Rodney Dixon KC, Temple Garden Chambers, London and The Hague, who is acting for Mr Hedges and Mr Ahmad, says they believe the evidence submitted “shows [Mr Raisi’s] responsibility for both cases” given his role as inspector general of the interior ministry since 2015.
It includes medical evidence of what happened to the two men and the issues they are still dealing with.
The complaint has two aims, says Mr Dixon. It aims to show Mr Raisi’s “complexity” in the initial acts of torture and his subsequent “ordered responsibility” for failing to investigate those acts when the UK Foreign Office issued a formal complaint to the UAE about the cases of the two men.
Ms Shea says that apart from the two cases in Britain she has had “no indication that any allegations have been investigated” by Mr Raisi’s office.
For Mr Hedges, however, the pain of his treatment has been exacerbated by years of UK government inaction. The Foreign Office may have lodged a complaint, but they were forced to apologize to Mr Hedges after a lengthy review of their handling of his case.
Despite this, the British police refused to investigate Mr Raisi, which is why, according to Mr Dixon, they are now issuing a complaint to the Scottish police.
“The UK government knows what happened to me,” says Mr Hedges. “How can they know what has happened and still not let this legal process affect them? Inaction is not an option.”
