The French anti-terrorism prosecutor's office has opened a preliminary investigation against the head of Interpol, UAE General Ahmed Nasser al-Raisi, in connection with allegations of torture and acts of barbarism, AFP reports.

The investigation followed a legal complaint by an NGO that accused Raisi of being responsible for torturing an opposition figure while serving in the United Arab Emirates' interior ministry.

The Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR), which held Raisi responsible for the inhumane treatment of Ahmed Mansour, filed a complaint in January with the Anti-Terror Prosecutor's Office, which is responsible for dealing with crimes against humanity.

Torture allegations had already been brought against Raisi by human rights organizations when he was running for president of Interpol.

However, in November he was elected president.

There were also allegations that Abu Dhabi was abusing Interpol's system of so-called "red notices" to track down suspects to target political dissidents.

Raisi is being investigated by the prosecutor's office for crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, sources said.