The BBC has gained access to detention facilities located on former United Arab Emirates (UAE) military bases in Yemen, confirming long-standing allegations of a network of secret prisons operated by the UAE and its allied forces during Yemen's civil war. This access was granted by the Yemeni government.
Conditions and Allegations of Abuse
At one site in the Al-Dhaba Oil Export Area, approximately 10 shipping containers were observed. Detainees reported that these black-painted, poorly ventilated containers held up to 60 men each, forcing them to remain upright due to lack of space. Scratched messages and dates on the walls appeared to mark periods of detention.
At another military base, eight brick and cement cells were shown, including several measuring about one meter square and two meters tall, which the Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani stated were used for solitary confinement.
Former detainees recounted experiences of beatings and sexual abuse. One individual reported being beaten for three days post-arrest, with interrogators demanding confessions of al-Qaeda membership. This detainee stated they were held for a year and a half, subjected to daily beatings, sexual abuse, and inadequate provisions. Captors allegedly included Emirati soldiers and Yemeni fighters.
A mother described her son's detention as a teenager nine years ago, alleging he was electrocuted, doused with ice-cold water, and sexually abused at an Emirati-run base. She stated that a recording presented as her son's confession showed evidence of him being beaten and instructed on what to say.
Documentation and Responses
Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, and media outlets have documented allegations of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture in UAE-run and allied detention centers for a decade. Human Rights Watch reported in 2017 testimonies of detainees held without charge, subjected to beatings and electric shocks.
The UAE has previously denied such allegations. The BBC sent detailed allegations regarding the visited sites and abuse accounts to the UAE government, but received no response. All parties in the Yemeni civil war have faced accusations of human rights violations.
Political Context and Access
The Yemeni government, previously allied with the UAE against the Houthi rebel movement, has seen its alliance with the UAE fracture. UAE forces withdrew from Yemen in early January. Following this, Yemeni government forces and allies retook significant territory from UAE-backed separatists, including the port of Mukalla.
Yemen's Information Minister, Moammar al-Eryani, stated that the government could not access UAE-controlled locations until recently. He indicated that upon liberation, these prisons were discovered, despite prior victim reports that the government had not fully believed. The decision to grant international media access coincides with a widening rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Saudi Arabia recently carried out a strike on what it described as a UAE weapons shipment to separatists and supported a demand for Emirati forces to leave Yemen. The UAE denied the shipment contained weapons and its involvement in the separatists' recent military campaign.
Families of detainees have raised concerns with Yemeni authorities, believing that the detention network could not have operated without the knowledge of the Yemeni government and its Saudi backers. Questions remain regarding the status of individuals still allegedly held in these facilities.