In brief
An exclusive report uncovers secret prisons operated by the UAE in Yemen, where detainees reportedly face severe mistreatment and torture. Former prisoners share harrowing accounts of abuse, including beatings and sexual violations, amidst ongoing allegations of human rights violations in the region. Families of the detained are desperate for answers as the Yemeni government grapples with its complicity in these operations, which came to light following recent shifts in military control in the country.
The BBC has been granted access to secret detention facilities on former UAE military bases in Yemen, confirming long-standing allegations of a network of clandestine prisons operated by UAE forces. Reports indicate that former detainees have endured inhumane treatment, including severe beatings and sexual abuse. The international community is alarmed by the discoveries, as the UAE has previously denied such allegations.Upon visiting two bases in Southern Yemen, it became evident that conditions were dire: several shipping containers housed up to 60 men each, offering little ventilation or space, with many markings on the containers made by the detainees' own hands.The alliance between the Yemeni government and the UAE has recently crumbled following military tensions, allowing for greater scrutiny of the situation. Journalists have seldom received clearance to report from Yemen, but recent invitations have enabled them to present the grim realities of alleged torture and detainment.At one facility, former detainees reported being routinely blindfolded and bound, having to remain upright without resting space. “If someone collapsed, the others had to hold him up,” one survivor stated. Another shared his experience of ongoing torture and coercion by his captors, made up of both Emirati and local forces.Families of the missing live in despair; one mother recounted losing contact with her son, a promising athlete, for months after his arrest, only to see him bearing the scars of severe torture when she finally regained access to him. The abuse outlined in these stories aligns with findings from human rights organizations monitoring the crisis.Saudi Arabia, the UAE’s ally in the region, concluded that the security forces would need to radically re-evaluate their operations as they dealt with internal uprisings against their (previously) unified positions.As of January 2026, Yemen's President has ordered the closure of all ‘illegal’ detention centers. However, rights groups fear that without a transparent system of justice, the problems may simply shift rather than cease entirely.
