Detainees in UAE-run prison in Yemen launch hunger strike

Detainees in a UAE-administered detention facility in the Yemeni city of Aden have started a hunger strike, in protest against their indefinite detention, a statement by the Association of Abductees’ Mothers reveals.

The statement reads, “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.”

It added further, “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.”

One of the detainees, Abdul Wahid Ali, has jaundice and obtained a release ruling prior to the commencement of the hunger strike. Referring to his ongoing detention in Beir Ahmed prison, the Association asked “What is the justification for the continuation of his detention to date with the deterioration of his health conditions?”

The revelation adds to a growing list of Emirati human rights abuses in Yemen, including a UAE assisted siege of Aden and Abyan by the Southern Transitional Council in August that killed and injured around 300 people.