Report: Dozens of detainees moved from secret UAE prisons in Yemen

Dozens of detainees were transferred from a secret prison run by the United Arab Emirates in Yemen to another government-run facility in the coastal city of Mukalla, a senior Yemeni official said.

The Associated Press reported the Yemeni official as saying that 133 detainees were transferred from the Riyan Airport to the newly-renovated Central Prison in Mukalla.

The airport was one of 18 secret prisons AP had revealed in an earlier investigation to have been run by the UAE where former prisoners claimed that torture was widespread.

In June a number of international organisations, including Human Rights Watch, accused the UAE of operating two informal detention facilities in Yemen.

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According to the investigation, the secret prisons were established inside military bases, ports and airports, private villas and even inside a nightclub.

The UAE denies the allegations. The foreign ministry said in a statement that the UAE does not manage or supervise any prisons in Yemen.