The BBC has accessed secret detention centres in Yemen that are run by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its allied forces. These prisons are located in former UAE military bases in southern Yemen. One former prisoner shared horrifying details of beatings and sexual abuse during captivity. The BBC saw black-painted shipping containers used as cells, with detainees' names and dates scratched on them. Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani guided the BBC on this visit. The UAE denied the allegations previously and did not comment this time. Until recently, Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the UAE were allies against the Houthi rebels in northwest Yemen. However, the alliance broke down as UAE forces pulled out in January 2026, and Yemeni government forces regained lost territories, including the port city Mukalla. At one site, tiny solitary cells and containers held up to 60 men at a time. Prisoners were blindfolded, tied, and forced to sit upright without space to lie down. One detainee said, "There was no space to lie down. If someone collapsed, the others had to hold him up." He described daily beatings, poor food, and forced confessions labeling him as an al-Qaeda member. He revealed, "They even sexually abused us and said they would bring in the 'doctor'," who was an Emirati beating detainees. A mother described her teenage son’s nine-year detention in one such secret prison, recalling seeing his torture scars during a brief visit. She accused the prison of electrocuting and sexually abusing him repeatedly. Human rights groups have reported on these prisons for years, but direct access was nearly impossible. Families say authorities knew about the detention sites yet gave no answers. After the UAE's withdrawal, Yemen's leadership ordered the closure of illegal prisons and calls for detainees' release. Some prisoners remain held, transferred to other government-controlled jails. The government's Information Minister said the discovery of prisons was shocking: "We had been told by many victims that they existed but we didn't believe it was true." These allegations come amid worsening Saudi-UAE tensions and ongoing conflict in Yemen. Rights groups warn arbitrary detention and abuse may continue despite official claims.