KEIR Starmer has been criticised after personally welcoming an Emirati official who has been accused of orchestrating the torture of two British men in Dubai.
The Prime Minister shook hands with Interpol president Major General Ahmed Naser al-Raisi after he attended the annual meeting of the world police body in Glasgow.
This is despite Matthew Hedges and Ali Issa Ahmad having filed formal criminal complaints against him.
The pair submitted a criminal complaint with supporting evidence to Police Scotland, requesting that Raisi be questioned and arrested while in Glasgow on the basis of the evidence submitted.
Their lawyer Rodney Dixon KC, maintained that Police Scotland should arrest Raisi under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which enabled Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean military dictator, to be detained in London in 1998.
But Raisi was instead greeted by members of the UK Government at the 92nd Interpol General Assembly in Scotland’s largest city.
Raisi wrote on social media: “Pleased to meet with the Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer, prime minister of the UK, and the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper, secretary of state for the home department, at Interpol’s 92nd General Assembly.
“The UK Government’s increased support for Interpol’s global operations will support the fight against international organised crime affecting the UK, including drugs and firearms, fraud, as well as human trafficking and migrant smuggling.”
“Torture has no place in Scotland and nor do those who would inflict it,” she sad.
“These allegations raise serious questions about Mr al-Raisi and his suitability to be in any kind of senior role for Interpol or any other organisation that is meant to uphold justice.
“What happened to Matthew Hedges, Ali Issa Ahmad and so many others was abhorrent, but these were not isolated incidents. Emirate police forces have been widely accused of systemic violence, including torture, arbitrary detention and physical abuse.”
She added: “Police Scotland must listen to the survivors of the regime that Al-Raisi represents and take action.”
Hedges, from Surrey, was accused of spying by the authorities in Dubai while there researching his doctorate.
He was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 25 years in prison but was pardoned after his detention caused uproar in the UK. He spent seven months behind bars and at one point was being kept in a cell with no bed or window, given drugs and interrogated for 15 hours a day without a lawyer.
Ahmad, a football fan from Wolverhampton, was arrested for wearing a Qatar top in the Emirates.
He described being beaten, cut and burnt by police officers before his arrest and then subjected to electric shocks, beaten, stabbed and deprived of food, water and sleep. Emirati officials insisted he hurt himself.
Ahmad said: “Al-Raisi instead comes here to Glasgow to parade around as someone who stands to end crime. Nothing could be further from the truth.
“He needs to be subjected to justice for his actions and failures to act.”
Police Scotland said: “We have received correspondence and it will be responded to in due course.”
