In Yemen, secret prisons have been set up in which human rights violations "amounting to war crimes" are being committed. The accusation came on Thursday 12 July from a report published by Amnesty International, which offers a new, further and tragic portrait of the conflict that has been under way for years in the Middle Eastern nation.

Yemen has known no peace since 2014

The country has been at war since 2014, with Houthi Shia rebels who took up arms alongside forces that remained loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, killed in December 2017, fighting against troops aligned with the current president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Anna Neistat @AnnaNeistat

𝕏

Where are Yemen’s 'disappeared'?
@amnesty’s new report exposes how #UAE and #Yemen forces have been quietly 'disappearing' scores of men. According to witnesses, they have been arbitrarily detaining and subjecting them to torture + death.

amn.st/6006Do42Q

♥ 5💬 1 13 lug 2018 · Apri su X →

The non-governmental organisation spoke of "flagrant violations, which also include abductions and torture." As well as electric shocks, sexual violence and waterboarding (simulated drowning), according to sources cited by television network Al Jazeera. An accusation firmly denied by the United Arab Emirates, whose soldiers, according to the organisation, are the "managers" of the secret prisons, located primarily in southern Yemen. This is not the first time the existence of unofficial detention centres has been reported. In June 2017, the Associated Press agency had revealed the existence of at least 18 sites. In that case too, it was claimed that these facilities were run by the United Arab Emirates or by Yemeni forces, allies of Saudi Arabia and the United States, who are fighting against the Houthis. The AP had also reported cases of abductions and torture.

Amnesty International cites the cases of 19 people who have not been heard from since

Amnesty International's investigation was carried out between March 2016 and May 2018 and concerned the cases of 51 men who were arrested and then transferred to secret prisons. The organisation states that "to date, 19 of these individuals are missing." Hence the appeal "to the United Arab Emirates' partners, including the United States," to "take a stand" and launch "investigations into the role of American personnel in abuses related to these detentions in Yemen." The NGO also calls on the nations involved "not to use information obtained through torture or similar treatment."

Amnesty Italia @amnestyitalia

𝕏

“Non voglio mai più vedere quello che ho visto. In quel posto, non vedi neanche la luce del sole.” Sono drammatiche le testimonianze delle vittime di #tortura e sparizione nello #Yemen.
Qua il report completo
bit.ly/2us0Zhz

♥ 103💬 3 13 lug 2018 · Apri su X →

"The UAE, through its way of operating in the shadows, has created in southern Yemen a kind of security apparatus outside the law that commits serious human rights violations without facing any consequences," commented Tirana Hassan, a senior official at Amnesty International. "The lack of an accountability system," she added, "makes it even harder for families to challenge the legality of the detention of their relatives. Even when some Yemeni judges have sought to assert authority over certain prisons, their attempts have been entirely ignored by UAE forces and on several occasions their orders to release detainees have been delayed."