Investigation, Lifting Immunity, and Holding the Involved Accountable… Legal Demands Following the Announcement of Secret Prisons in Hadramawt
Yemen Monitor/Newsroom:
Lawyer Abdurrahman Barman said on Wednesday that he had followed the announcement by the authorities of the Yemeni government regarding the discovery of secret prisons inside Al-Rayyan Civilian Airport in the city of Al-Mukalla and at Al-Dabbah Oil Port in Hadramawt Governorate.
Barman emphasized that the existence of these prisons outside the framework of the law and judiciary represents a grave crime under the Yemeni Constitution, the Yemeni Criminal Procedures Law, the rules of International Humanitarian Law, and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
He called on the government to fully preserve the sites of the prisons and refrain from tampering with, removing, or altering the cells, interrogation rooms, records, tools, and belongings, considering them a crime scene under the law.
Barman insisted on immediately calling the Public Prosecution to urgently conduct a field visit, seize evidence, document the sites, and open independent criminal investigations.
He also demanded the determination of legal responsibilities by investigating who established these prisons, who managed them, who issued the orders, and who covered up the crimes, as a prelude to criminal accountability without immunity.
He stressed the necessity of revealing the fate of all detainees by fully disclosing the names of the prisoners, their detention locations, their legal statuses, and the fate of those forcibly disappeared.
Barman warned that any tampering with evidence, concealment of contents, or obstruction of the investigation constitutes an independent crime, for which the perpetrators bear criminal responsibility, and these crimes do not lapse under international law.
He described this moment as a true test of the state’s commitment to the rule of law, affirming that there is no justice without revealing the truth, providing redress to the victims, and holding all those involved accountable regardless of their positions.
He emphasized that justice begins with preserving evidence, not erasing it.
