Beir Ahmed is a prison in Aden,

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. In June 2018,

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newsp ...

reported sexual abuse and torture occurring in the prison.

Operation

The staff of Beir Ahmed are primarily Yemeni, however according to The Associated Press, military officers in the prison are from the United Arab Emirates as well as American personnel in uniforms. Security is provided by the

Security Belt The Security Belt Forces (Arabic: قوات الحزام الأمني) is a paramilitary force based in Southern Yemen and forms the elite military wing of the Southern Transitional Council. The force operates in the governorates of Aden, Lahij ...

, a UAE supported Yemeni paramilitary force of the

Southern Movement The Southern Movement ( ''al-Ḥirāk al-Janūbiyy''), sometimes known as the Southern Separatist Movement, or South Yemen Movement, or Aden Movement, and colloquially known as al-Hirak, is a political movement and paramilitary organization act ...

. On July 3, 2018 forty-six detainees were released from the prison.

Abuse

According to reporting by

, detainees at Beir Ahmed have been subjected to

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. definitions of tortur ...

and

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

. The Associated Press also reported that detainees have been raped, had their genitals electrocuted, and had rocks hung from their testicles and were held without being charged. In July 2018, Yemeni Interior Minister Ahmed al-Maysari demanded that the UAE close or surrender control of the prison after The Associated Press released a report of torture and sexual abuse. The UAE's permanent mission to the United Nations stated “The UAE has never managed or run prisons or secret detention centers in Yemen”. A Pentagon spokesman said the U.S. has seen no evidence of detainee abuse in Yemen.

References

{{coord missing, Yemen Buildings and structures in Aden Men's prisons