In a strong call to action, several human rights organisations are urging the Arab Interior Ministers’ Council (AIMC) to halt its complicity in the arbitrary extradition of peaceful dissidents and human rights advocates. The groups demand the AIMC realign its practices with international human rights standards, particularly following a conference on February 16, 2025, in Tunis, where the issue of transnational repression was highlighted.
Often described as an “Arab INTERPOL”, the AIMC aims to enhance cooperation on internal security and crime prevention among member states, using its Criminal Prosecution Department to facilitate extraditions. However, despite protections against politically motivated extraditions laid out in the Riyadh Arab Agreement, violations remain rampant. Lacking robust oversight, the AIMC has effectively become a conduit for politically charged requests.
From 2022 to 2025, outspoken figures such as Khalaf al-Romaithi, Hassan al-Rabea, and Salman al-Khaldy faced wrongful extradition under AIMC directives, raising grave concerns about the violation of their rights. Currently, an imminent risk hangs over Ahmed Kamel, an Egyptian national in Saudi Arabia, who could be extradited back to a regime known for brutal human rights violations.
Despite legal prohibitions, Arab states conflate peaceful activism with threats to state security, weaponising legal frameworks against dissenters. Additionally, the AIMC’s statutes lack crucial references to global human rights laws, omitting protections like the principle of non-refoulement, which bans extradition in the face of torture risks.
UN experts have voiced their concerns regarding the AIMC’s practices, highlighting the lack of transparency and access to legal recourse for those affected. However, their communications have gone unanswered, indicating a troubling disregard for necessary reforms. The ongoing facilitation of human rights violations by the AIMC speaks to an urgent need for systemic change to safeguard the rights of dissidents.
The undersigned NGOs implore the AIMC to cease its politically motivated extraditions at once and to engage in serious dialogue with civil society to align its operations with international human rights law. Until meaningful reforms are implemented, the spectre of transnational repression will continue to loom over those voicing dissent across the Arab region.
Human rights groups are calling for the AIMC to stop facilitating the arbitrary extradition of dissidents. The AIMC, often mischaracterised as ‘Arab INTERPOL’, is implicated in rising transnational repression among member states. Despite legal prohibitions, politically motivated extraditions occur, as seen in cases of several activists. Urgent reforms aligning its framework with international law are sought to protect human rights and individuals at risk.
The AIMC must immediately abandon its role in facilitating politically motivated extraditions and adopt reforms in consultation with civil society. Human rights organisations are calling for urgent changes to align the AIMC’s legal framework with international human rights standards. If these reforms are neglected, dissenters and human rights defenders will remain under constant threat of persecution and extradition in violation of their rights.
Original Source: menarights.org
