Top Yemeni official denies presence of secret detentions in Aden

Aden - He indicated that relatives of prisoners visit them every Sunday.

Lt. Colonel Ahmed Al Aqrabi, Head of Beir Ahmed Reformatory, denied the presence of secret prisons in Aden run out of the purview of the Ministry of Interior and the judiciary.
He stated that funded-media smear campaigns were propagating lies and fabrications rather than seeking the truth to publish.
"Doors of the reformatory are open before any media organ seeking the truth. Any media outlet can come and meet the management a as well as sit with prisoners and ask them about their conditions," he added.
He indicated that relatives of prisoners visit them every Sunday. "Prisoners appear before courts and criminal prosecutions openly," he stressed.
According to him, a number of international organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, visited the facility and had direct and transparent interactions with prisoners about their conditions. These organsiations, he noted, had sensed the compliance of the facility with international human rights principles.
He said that large numbers of prisoners were released as per judicial rulings or the prosecution after they underwent a three-month rehabilitation and inclusion programme.

• MENA