SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties denounced today assaults by security forces in charge of Bir Ahmed prison, supervised by the UAE, on mothers of detainees on 9 March 2019, and denied them family visits.
In statement issued today14 March SAM said the detainee Muhammad al-Zameki sustained hemiplegia، due to torture by electric shock on 10 March, and was denied treatment, only after one day of his injury, where he was hospitalized with another detainee who suffered heart disease and diabetes, for one day and returned to the prison.
According to SAM sources, al-Zameki suffers hemiplegia in his lower part and needs special medical care.
SAM hold Bir Ahmed prison management and Yemeni authorities responsible for the assaults on the mothers of the detainees and called for a comprehensive investigation on the injuries sustained by al-Zameki. Also to ensure granting of detainees and their relatives all their rights according to the constitution and relevant international conventions. And urged Yemeni authorities to provide medical, psychological and social care to the detainees, especially the sick ones and to hospitalize them and provide them with the needed health care that protect their lives.
SAM attributed the recurrence of assaults on lack of respect to the judicial warrants by the prison management and the Coalition forces to release the detainees in addition to malfunction of the judiciary and strokes that delay cases handling.
SAM called the ministry of interior and the Arab Coalition in Aden to respect the Yemeni Constitution and the International conventions and grant detainees with all their legal rights including right to family visit and medical care and to release all detainees ordered by the court to be released and to decide immediately on other pending cases. In addition to hold perpetrators accountable and investigate torture cases.
SAM urged the international community to push the legitimate government to and the UAE to release the detainees who do not face any charges and disclose the whereabouts of the forcibly disappeared.
SAM clarified that the detainees at Bir Ahmed went on ginger strike for the sixth time on 6 March, protesting the degrading treatment by the prison. However, the prison administration responded with more beating, solitary confinement and deprived of using the toilet.
SAM quoted one relative of a detainee as saying ”they've been exposed to cruel and degrading treatment” and each four were kept in a cell originally for two prisoners, and were locked inside their cells since 4 March.
SAM interviewed I relative of a detainee who has been assaulted who said ”when we approached Bir Ahmed prison to visit the detainees after we heard about the strike and asked the guard to let us in. The guards told us that Ghassan al-Aqrabi the director of the prison will meet us. But after a while they refused and when we walk away a group of soldiers in four vehicles and armored vehicle pointed their machine guns on us and pushed one woman to the ground. And took one woman’s mobile, searched it and return it later when we were leaving”.
The eyewitness continued ”we saw an officer in UAE uniform beating an 8 years child while assaulting his mother who was fighting the officer. Another officer pointed a gun on one wife if a detainee and ordered her to leave or he will slap her”.
SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties
14 March 2019