Secret UAE Prison Network Exposed in Yemen After Military Withdrawal
Yemen, 23 January 2026
Following the UAE’s withdrawal from Yemen in early January 2026, the BBC gained unprecedented access to secret detention facilities on former UAE military bases, revealing shipping containers used as cells where up to 60 men were held in appalling conditions. Former detainees describe systematic torture, sexual abuse, and solitary confinement in cells measuring just one square metre. One mother hadn’t heard from her detained son for seven months, while another reported her child was held for nine years after being detained as a teenager.
Access Granted After Military Withdrawal
The BBC gained access to detention facilities on former UAE military bases in Yemen on 22 January 2026, after the UAE withdrew its forces from the country in early January [1][2]. The Yemeni government invited reporters to view two sites in the Al-Dhaba Oil Export Area, including the port of Mukalla, accompanied by Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani [1][2]. These facilities confirm long-standing allegations of a network of secret prisons run by the UAE and allied forces during Yemen’s decade-long civil war [1][2]. At one site, the BBC observed approximately 10 shipping containers painted black on the interior with little ventilation, whilst another military base contained eight cells built from brick and cement [1][2].
Horrific Conditions and Systematic Abuse
Former detainees described harrowing conditions within the facilities, with some cells measuring approximately 1 metre square and 2 metres tall, allegedly used for solitary confinement [1][2]. One former prisoner told the BBC that shipping containers held up to 60 men at a time, stating: “There was no space to lie down. If someone collapsed, the others had to hold him up” [1][2]. The same detainee reported systematic torture, explaining: “All types of torture - when we were interrogated it was the worst. They even sexually abused us and said they would bring in the ‘doctor’” [2]. Messages scratched into container walls marked dates when detainees were brought in, with several dated as recently as December 2025 [1][2]. One prisoner had simply etched the word “mother” on the wall, summarising his suffering [4].
Families’ Anguish and Long-term Detention
The human cost of these secret detention centres extends far beyond the facilities themselves, with families reporting months and years without contact with detained relatives [1]. One mother revealed she hadn’t heard from her son for seven months, telling the BBC: “You can hear him being beaten in the background and told what to say… My son is not a terrorist. You have robbed him of the best years of his life” [2]. Another mother reported her son was detained as a teenager and has been held for nine years, alleging he was electrocuted, doused with ice-cold water, and sexually abused [2]. Human rights activist Huda al-Sarari organised a meeting attended by 70 former detainees from Mukalla and families of 30 people still detained [1]. The emotional toll on families was evident when one mother stated: “The terrorists are out on the streets…Our sons are not terrorists” [1][2].
Political Context and Government Response
The revelations come amid deteriorating relations between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which reached a breaking point in December 2025 when UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatists seized territory in two western provinces [1][2]. Saudi Arabia responded by striking a weapons shipment from the UAE to the STC in Mukalla and demanded Emirati forces leave Yemen [1][2]. Following the UAE withdrawal, Yemeni government forces retook control of western provinces and the south, though separatists still pose threats to government control in areas like Aden [1]. Yemen’s Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani stated: “We weren’t able to access locations that were under UAE control until now…When we liberated them we discovered these prisons… we had been told by many victims that they existed but we didn’t believe it was true” [1][2]. On 12 January 2026, Rashad al-Alimi, president of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, ordered the closure of “illegal” prisons in southern provinces formerly controlled by the STC and demanded the release of those “held outside the framework of the law” [1][2]. However, concerns persist as some detainees have reportedly been transferred to prisons nominally under government control, raising fears that arbitrary detention may continue [2].