A report reveals crimes, violations committed against the people in occupied southern governorates

The secret prisons in the occupied southern governorates are one of the most prominent closed black files and the most important tools of oppression and intimidation practiced by the Saudi-Emirati occupying countries against opponents of their criminal practices and destructive policies.

Despite the domestic and international condemnations of the physical and psychological torture crimes that hundreds of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons have been subjected to in the secret prisons of the occupation countries during the past years, but the scope of secret prisons has expanded throughout the occupied governorates from the Western Coast to Al-Mahra and the archipelago of Socotra, where that reflects the brutality of the Saudi-Emirati occupation countries and reveals the policy of Subjugating the Yemeni society and submitting it to the occupation authorities using oppression and abuse.

A report issued by the Media Center of the Southern Governorates revealed the crimes and violations committed by the occupying countries and their militias against the people there during the past years.

The report explained that according to monitoring and tracking the occupation crimes in secret prisons in the southern governorates, the number of secret prisons criminalized by international humanitarian law has increased from 26 secret prisons at the end of 2019 to 42 by the end of last month.

Human rights sources in those governorates estimated that the number of detainees there more than 2500.

Despite the exposure of many of the crimes committed in the secret prisons of the UAE and its militias in the southern governorates during the period 2016-2019, the Saudi occupier proceeded with the same approach in establishing many secret prisons, and Riyadh granted the militias affiliated to it from the Islah Party in Shabwa and Wadi Hadramout and Al Qaeda in Abyan the green light in establishing more prisons.

According to the report, no secret prison belonging to the UAE has been closed during the past two years, despite Abu Dhabi’s announcement of the withdrawal from Yemen and the handing over of the occupation leadership to Saudi Arabia in early October 2019. In addition, all prisons and detention centers that were affiliated with the Ministry of Interior before the occupation were transformed into prisons belonging to the armed militias of the occupation countries.

The report stated that the militias of the occupation forces have established illegal detention centers in the camps’ headquarters of the occupation militias in the various southern governorates.

According to information obtained by the Media Center for the Southern Governorates, Aden Governorate is still the main headquarters of the Emirati secret prisons that are managed under cover by the Saudi occupation forces that took over the leadership of the occupation headquarters from the Emirati occupier in early October 2019.

The report pointed out that there are three secret prisons located in Bir Ahmed region, in the west of Aden, one of which is a collective prison, the second is a solitary prison that has been established, and the third is a secret prison dedicated to the forcibly disappeared people, in addition that the support forces, the security belt and the special forces camp have solitary and collective prisons, and the transformation of the intelligence and security, political and national prisons in Aden to secret prisons belonging to the militias of the Southern Transitional Council affiliated to the Emirates, with the exception of the Central Prison in Aden, which is still subject to the Public Prosecution in Aden.

The report emphasized that the aforementioned prisons are not subject to the Public Prosecution or the government of the escaped  fugitive presedent Hadi, and it refuses to present the detainees to the Specialized Criminal Court or other courts in the city and has not dealt with any orders or directives issued by the government of Hadi.

The report indicated that the International Committee of the Red Cross and organizations concerned with protecting human rights were prevented from visiting and dealing with them as closed prisons belonging to the UAE and its militias in Aden.

The UAE’s secret prisons in Aden hold more than 800 detainees, more than of 87 of them are forcibly disappeared.

The forms of torture practiced by the occupation forces in the secret prisons of the UAE vary between torture with electric sticks, hanging on the prison wall, pouring cold water on detainees, holding their breath, and preventing them of visiting of their family.

Resource: ansarollah website.