UAE ‘humanitarian’ identified by former Yemen detainees as prison torturer

Dozens of former Yemeni detainees from Al-Rayyan Prison in Mukalla, Hadhramaut, have identified UAE intelligence officer Saeed Al-Kalbani as being responsible for torturing and abusing prisoners, according to the Yemen Press Agency. Al-Kalbani’s identity was revealed when pro-UAE media published his photo in a report about the UAE Red Crescent’s aid to local sanitation projects in the region.

The released prisoners were shocked by Al-Kalbani’s portrayal as a humanitarian, given his role in overseeing torture in secret UAE-operated prisons. The report notes that activists had previously exposed Al-Kalbani as a leading figure in Emirati intelligence in Yemen, particularly at Al-Rayyan, where he personally conducted abuses.

الضابط/ سعيد الكلباني
أحد المتورطين بالإشراف على السجون التي أنشأتها الإمارات في حضرموت
تنكل تحت يديه عشرات اليمنيين، وبشكل خاص في سجن مطار الريان بمدينة المكلا وكل المساجين يعرفوه .
ظهر فيما بعد كأحد أعضاء بعثة الهلال الأحمر الإماراتي، وتعاملت معه الجهات اليمنية كشخص آخر،… pic.twitter.com/PxrjLoYriG

— عادل الحسني (@Adelalhasanii) November 7, 2023

These secret prisons, first uncovered by AP in 2017, have faced widespread condemnation from human rights organisations, although the UN has remained silent on the issue. Alongside Al-Rayyan, other notorious detention centres include Al-Dabba port, Rabwa in Mukalla, and the Republican Palace detention centre.

Human rights groups continue to demand the closure of these facilities and the prosecution of those involved in the abuses, including Al-Kalbani, whose dual role as a torturer and member of the UAE Red Crescent mission has drawn sharp criticism.

Last year, Yemeni political activist Adel Al-Hasani condemned these secret prisons as violations of human rights, the UN Charter and international law. He noted that the UAE began establishing secret prisons in southern Yemen in 2015, comparing the atrocities committed there to those in the US-run Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

READ: Houthis claim to down US MQ-9 drone above Marib province in Yemen