Yemen: detainees start hunger strike in UAE prison in Aden

Detainees have started a hunger strike at a UAE prison in the Yemeni city of Aden, in protest against their non-release despite obtaining a previous decision on the matter.

This came in a statement issued late Monday evening by the Association of Abductees’ Mothers (a Yemeni civil organisation concerned with the defence of the rights of detainees).

“Our detained sons in Beir Ahmed prison have announced entering in an open hunger strike, in protest against the continuation of their detention after receiving their release orders,” the statement said.

“We are the mothers of the abductees and forcibly disappeared people in Aden Governorate. We are greatly concerned about the situation of our sons, and we call upon the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Interior and the Attorney General to release 15 forcibly detained people, for whom release orders were issued more than six months ago,” added the statement.

The statement demanded, “to take their situation into consideration, achieve justice for them and remove the injustice they have suffered, and to proceed resolutely and at a faster pace with the legal procedures for the rest of those arbitrarily detained in Beir Ahmed prison for more than a year.”

The Association held government agencies and the prison administration responsible for the detainees’ freedom, safety and what happens to them due to the negligence of their demands and the procrastination in the procedures followed in their regard.

The statement pointed out that detainee Abdul Wahid Ali, one of the hunger strikers, has had jaundice in prison though he obtained a release order. “What is the justification for the continuation of his detention to date with the deterioration of his health conditions?” wondered the Association.

Beir Ahmed prison is under the control of Yemeni forces loyal to UAE, the second active member of the Saudi-led Arab coalition against the Houthis for four and a half years.

In August, separatists of the Southern Transitional Council took control of the governorates of Aden and Abyan (south), with the support of UAE air force that targeted Yemeni military locations, killing and injuring 300 people, according to a statement by Yemen’s Defence Ministry.

The UAE had subsequently admitted carrying out the raids but justified this by targeting “armed terrorist groups” in response to an attack by coalition forces at Aden airport. The Yemeni government rejected these justifications and described them as “false.”

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