All prisons in Aden and the other liberated governorates, are under the control of the Yemeni prison authority that are supervised by the judiciary
Dubai – Denying the existence of secret prisons and the allegations of torture, Deputy interior minister of Yemen, Major General Ali Nasser Lakhsha has invited journalists and TV stations visit jails to see the conditions for themselves.
Major General Lakhsha said during a visit to Bier Ahmed prison in Aden that "there is no truth in what some media outlets have reported that there exists secret prisons inside the prison of Bir Ahmad or in Al Rayyan Airport in Hadramout.”
He said: “All prisons in Aden and the other liberated governorates, are under the control of the Yemeni prison authority that are supervised by the judiciary. The role of the coalition countries does not exceed financial and logistic support as we are in need of it.”
Major General Laksha has called on families with missing members to report to Aden police department, so that the authorities could help locate them. He emphasized that all detainees in the governorate were held in Mukalla central prison only.
The prison visit came more than two weeks after the Associated Press reported allegations of torture at three alleged secret prisons across Yemen. Following the AP reports in June, the UAE Mission at the United Nations Office in Europe denied the accusations of running these prison cells and reiterated its commitment to protecting global human rights.
UAE minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted on Sunday denying again the reports of UAE involvement in Yemeni prisons. “In Yemen, the UAE was subjected to unjust distortion campaigns, because it carried out its responsibilities in regard to the security of the region with courage and dignity. There have been fabrications about our role in Socotra. The reports of secret prisons are all false news.”
“The source of false reports and accusations against the UAE is either from an enemy who is losing one battle after the other or from political parties that are powerless,” Gargash added.
