Routine torture and sexual abuse are two of the horrific widespread practices being conducted in detention centers run by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Yemen, according to drawings smuggled from inside a prison in the southern city of Aden.
The drawings, which offer a glimpse into a world of human rights violations, were smuggled from the UAE-run Beir Ahmed prison where Yemeni detainees held without charge are tortured and sexually abused on a daily basis.
The UAE, a top U.S. ally in the Middle East, runs several secret prisons in the impoverished Arab Peninsula country.
The chilling drawings, obtained by the Associated Press, are reminiscent of the torture practices carried out in U.S. prisons in Iraq following the 2003 invasion, which was made public after photos depicting shocking torture and sexual abuse were released, prompting many to label the scandalous reveal as UAE’s own “Abu Ghraib,” in reference to the notorious American-run prison in Iraq.
Sexual violence is a primary tool aimed at brutalizing the detainees and extracting "confessions," the artist and six other detainees told the AP.
The drawings — penned on Styrofoam plates — portray shocking images like a man hanging naked from chains while he being subjected to electric shocks, another inmate on the floor surrounded by snarling dogs as several people kick him, and graphic depictions of anal rape.
A former security chief who was involved in the torture told the AP that rape is used as a way to force detainees to cooperate with the Emiratis in spying.
Emiratis arrested hundreds of Yemeni men on suspicion of being al-Qaeda or Daesh terrorists. The prisoners are being held without charges or trials in at least 18 hidden prisons.
Last year, American officials confirmed that the U.S. has interrogated detainees at UAE’s secret prisons. However, the Pentagon insisted that it is not aware of human rights abuses in these facilities.
The conflict in war-torn Yemen escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia, UAE and Sunni-Arab allies -- who accuse the Houthis of serving as proxies for Shia Iran -- launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.
The following year, UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait failed to end the destructive conflict.
The ongoing violence has devastated Yemen’s infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.
