All warring parties responsible: Report reveals unimaginable torture in Yemeni prisons

(Patria) – A new report by a leading Yemeni human rights group has revealed the level of torture, abuse and mistreatment endured by Yemenis in prisons and concentration camps over the past five years of conflict in the country.

The report documents 1,605 cases of extrajudicial detention, 770 cases of enforced disappearance, and 344 cases of torture committed by all warring parties in Yemen between May 2016 and April 2020.

The report states that the majority of cases are attributable to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, with 904 arbitrary detentions involving abuse, 353 enforced disappearances, 138 cases of torture, and 27 deaths in custody.

Torture through deprivation of food and water, beatings, and electric shocks were common practices in all 11 unofficial centers under investigation, according to the human rights group Mwatana, which obtained detailed evidence through field visits and thousands of interviews with former camp inmates, prisoners, witnesses, relatives, and lawyers.

The British Guardian writes that the data suggests that forces of the United Arab Emirates and affiliated military units are responsible for some of the most shocking treatment of prisoners, including being hung by the feet for hours with the head facing downward, and sexual torture such as burning of genitals.

A total of 419 cases of arbitrary detention, 327 disappearances, and 141 allegations of torture, as well as 25 deaths in prison or camp, are attributed to the United Arab Emirates and their allies, including the anti-Houthi militia known as the 'Security Belt'.

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government is responsible for 282 cases of detention, 90 disappearances, 65 cases of torture, and 14 deaths in custody, according to Mwatana.

Although conditions in official prisons are appalling, unofficial prisons and centers that have proliferated during the war are particularly concerning, where families have no access to prisoners.

The Guardian further writes that the highest number of detentions was recorded at the Security and Intelligence Agency run by the Houthis in the city of Sana'a; former prisoners told the Mwatana human rights group about torture involving nail pulling, severe beatings, and electric shocks.

In the October 7 prison in Abyan, controlled by the Security Belt, prisoners endured deprivation of food and water, being forced to drink urine, beatings with hammers, and sexual torture. Witnesses claim that lifeless bodies were thrown into the courtyard of a nearby hospital.

Mwatana has appealed to all parties to release extrajudicial prisoners due to the risk of coronavirus infection spreading through Yemen.