UAE Runs Secret Prisons in Yemen, Tortures and Sexually Abuses Detainees, BBC Confirms

The BBC reports journalists were given access to detention sites on former UAE military bases in southern Yemen, saying this confirms long‑standing allegations of a network of secret prisons run by the UAE and allied Yemeni forces during Yemen’s civil war.

“One of the sites had several shipping containers with little ventilation, where detainees said up to 60 men were held The BBC has been given access to detention facilities on former United Arab Emirates military bases in Yemen, confirming long-standing allegations of a network of secret prisons run by the UAE and forces allied to it in Yemen's decade-long civil war”

BBC

The BBC team described shipping containers painted black with little ventilation and names and dates scratched into the sides, and said rights groups have long documented similar accounts.

BBC

MyJoyOnline corroborates the BBC’s findings and adds the visit was arranged by the Yemeni government and accompanied by Information Minister Moammar al‑Eryani.

The sites were in the Al‑Dhaba Oil Export Area near Mukalla after the UAE withdrawal, and only two source articles were provided for this summary.

Both outlets describe the detention infrastructure in stark terms.

Journalists were shown about 10 black-painted shipping containers with names and dates scratched on their sides.

MyJoyOnline

They also saw small brick-and-cement cells roughly 1 metre by 2 metres, which the Yemeni government described as used for solitary confinement.

The BBC reports one meeting organised by lawyer Huda al-Sarari where about 70 people said they had been held there.

MyJoyOnline similarly notes eight small cells and specifies some container dates as recent as December 2025.

The physical descriptions—containers with little ventilation and cramped cells—are consistent across both reports.

Both reports relay testimony alleging severe mistreatment of detainees.

“One of the sites had several shipping containers with little ventilation, where detainees said up to 60 men were held The BBC has been given access to detention facilities on former United Arab Emirates military bases in Yemen, confirming long-standing allegations of a network of secret prisons run by the UAE and forces allied to it in Yemen's decade-long civil war”

BBC

Former detainees told the BBC they were beaten, deprived of food and sanitation, forced to confess to being al-Qaeda members, and subjected to sexual abuse.

One man said he was held for 18 months and attempted suicide multiple times.

MyJoyOnline echoes these accounts and includes testimony that a former prisoner was held for 18 months, beaten daily, and abused by Emirati personnel and Yemeni fighters.

MyJoyOnline also documents other detainees held for years.

Rights groups are cited by the BBC as having documented similar allegations for years.

Rights groups cited by the BBC say thousands were detained in southern counter‑terror and political crackdowns, and the BBC documents a Mukalla meeting where about 70 people said they had been detained while families said dozens more remained in custody.

MyJoyOnline similarly reports that rights groups say thousands were detained during UAE‑backed operations that targeted political activists and critics, reinforcing claims that the detentions extended beyond counter‑terror operations to include political repression.

MyJoyOnline

Both pieces note the UAE did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

“One of the sites had several shipping containers with little ventilation, where detainees said up to 60 men were held The BBC has been given access to detention facilities on former United Arab Emirates military bases in Yemen, confirming long-standing allegations of a network of secret prisons run by the UAE and forces allied to it in Yemen's decade-long civil war”

BBC

They also note the UAE has previously denied similar allegations.

BBC

The reporting is placed in the context of a recent rupture between the UAE and Yemen's government.

UAE forces withdrew in early January and government-aligned groups retook southern areas, including Mukalla.

The sources converge on the need for scrutiny.

The BBC points to documented history by rights groups and first-hand testimony.

MyJoyOnline emphasises the Yemeni government's role in arranging the visit and the persistence of long-term detentions.