Bahrain Mirror: Lawyers for a Bahraini political prisoner Ahmed Jaafar announced on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, suing the Interpol in France over the issuance of a "red notice" that led to the arrest of Jaafar in Serbia and deporting him to Bahrain in 2022.

"We represent imprisoned Bahraini dissident Ahmed Jaafar Mohammad Ali. We filed a civil complaint in the city of Lyon against the Interpol," the lawyers said in a statement, noting that "this civil measure is related to the Interpol's issuance of a Red Notice against Ahmed Jaafar Mohammad Ali, in violation of the guidelines, rules and measures of Interpol."

"As a result of this Red Notice, Ahmed Jaafar was arrested and illegally extradited to Bahrain and is currently being held in the notorious Jaw Prison where he is subjected to torture, beatings, inhuman treatment and systematic denial of medical care," they added. 

"I hold Interpol responsible for my unimaginable suffering since being extradited to Bahrain," Jaafar said.

Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, advocacy director at Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), said in a post on the "X" platform that "Jaafar was tried in political cases and sentenced in absentia while outside Bahrain. The total sentences against him now reach more than 74 years."

Ahmed Jaafar, 49, was forcibly deported from Serbia in January 2022, after he was arrested under an Interpol Red Notice, and extradited to Bahrain, despite submitting an asylum application on its territory as well as the decision of the European Court of Human Rights not to deport him.

Arabic Version