UK football fan 'tortured' in UAE gets green light to sue Emirati Interpol chief Raisi

The UK's High Court has granted permission to a football fan to sue the head of Interpol over accusations of torture and false imprisonment in the UAE.

British-Sudanese dual citizen Ali Issa Ahmed said he was subjected to abuse by Emirati authorities while he was in the UAE attending an Asian Cup game in 2019.

At the time, current Interpol chief Maj Gen Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi was in charge of prisons and policing in the Gulf state, and is one of six top Emirati officials being sued by Ahmad.

Other officials being sued for damages include Abu Dhabi State Security Public Prosecution chief Saqr Saif Al-Naqbi, Abu Dhabi Police Commander in Chief Maj Gen Faris Khalaf al-Mazrouei, and Abu Dhabi state security's second in command Maj Gen Ahmed Naser Ahmed al-Dahri.

Ahmad said he was arrested by UAE security forces in Abu Dhabi after the second-round match between Qatar and Iraq because he "wore a Qatar team jersey".

At the time, the UAE was one of four states taking part in a blockade of Qatar.

Ahmad said that during his detention he was "beaten, electrocuted, cut, burned and repeatedly questioned" about why he was wearing "a Qatar shirt".

The security worker said he suffered "physical and psychological harm" from the ordeal.

At the time of his arrest, the UAE confirmed it had detained a British man but denied reports that this was due to him showing support for Qatar.

The UAE Embassy in London instead claimed in a statement that he was charged for "making false assault claims to police".

After Ahmad's release, the UK Foreign Office agreed to call for an investigation into the case, however no official was ever held to account over the alleged abuse.