Following the withdrawal of UAE troops from Yemen – a key backer of the country's separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC) – local authorities have uncovered secret prisons in the province of Hadramawt. NGOs say they were used by the STC and their Emirati allies to lock up journalists, activists and political opponents – and the scene of systematic torture.
Following Saudi air strikes and an ultimatum, the United Arab Emirates announced on December 30, 2025, that it would withdraw its remaining forces from Yemen, including those from the southeastern provinces of Hadramawt and Al-Mahra. Consequently, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) – the separatist movement backed by the UAE until their withdrawal – has been officially dissolved. However, the movement maintains de facto control over several areas within the Aden region.
It was against this backdrop that authorities in Hadramawt revealed the existence of secret prisons.
According to NGOs, including Amnesty International, those were used by the STC and their Emirati allies between 2015 and 2025 to lock up their political opponents, journalists, and suspected al-Qaeda sympathisers. Amnesty International said the prisons were the scene of systematic torture.
‘One of the cells is a tiny space, with barely enough room to stand up’
Researcher Ibrahim Jalal visited three prisons on a press trip organised by the Saudi authorities. One of them was at the Al-Rayyan airport, near the city of Al-Mukalla. The other two were nearby.
"On the hillside near al-Dabba, there are facilities where you can see signs of torture.
One of the two cells is a tiny space, with barely enough room to stand up. It can be used as a form of torture: confining a prisoner in a space where he can't sit or lie down. Keeping people in cramped cells like this, with little ventilation or light, is inhumane by any standards."
The day after the visit, a local NGO organised a session for former prisoners and their families to speak out about the prisons.
The UAE has denied the allegations.
‘Graffiti protesting against injustice and oppression’
NGOs and the media have documented the existence of 18 secret prisons in the region.
Jalal told our team:
“Among the things we saw when we visited the secret prisons were graffiti protesting against injustice and oppression.
For example, one of them showed the name of the prisoner along with the words ‘unjustly detained’.
Another prisoner posted tallies of the days, months and years he had been there."
'We fear that those held in these prisons have been eliminated’
Dozens of prisoners were released after the STC withdrew. But many have not reappeared.
We spoke to Amat al-Salam al-Haj, the head of the Abductees' Mothers Association:
“As of now, not a single detainee or missing person reported by our association was found in the prisons uncovered in Hadramawt, Mahra, Socotra and in other regions. We have recovered no one.
We also fear that those held in these prisons have been eliminated or removed from Yemen.
We submitted a list of 62 forcibly disappeared persons to the Governor of Aden ... but none have resurfaced.”
The Abductees' Mothers Association regularly organises rallies, including outside the headquarters of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), Yemen’s internationally recognised government. They are demanding investigations into the fate of their missing relatives and calling for those responsible to be held accountable.
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