The human rights activist and Nobel Peace laureate Tawakkol Karman has called for a UN-supervised transparent and imperial inquiry into a network of prisons secretly run by the United Arab Emirates in southern Yemen.

In a statement issued today, Karman emphasized the need to bring all those who have committed violations against Yemenis to trial in international courts and ensure that they do not escape impunity. 

She pointed out that arresting and torturing on a large scale in a country, which is powerless by virtue of the coup d'état and war, indicate nothing but political betrayal and utter failure of the human conscience. 

Reports released by Human Rights Watch and the Associated Press on people subjected to arbitrary detention and horrific torture give an indication that a terrible massacre is being committed against justice and human dignity in Yemen, added Mrs. Karman.   

Violations by the Houthi militia and forces loyal to ousted president Saleh, as mentioned in Karman’s remarks, do not authorize Saudi-led military coalition to carry out crimes and abuses. 

“Most of Yemenis welcomed the Arab and international efforts to end the coup the Houthi militia allied with ousted president led against the constitutional legitimacy and the political process.”

According to separate reports released Thursday by Human Rights Watch and the Associated Press, the UAE and allied security forces maintain a secret network of prisons in Yemen where dozens and perhaps hundreds of people are detained, routinely abused and in some cases severely tortured. 

The full text of the statement:

I’m calling for a transparent and independent investigation supervised by the United Nations into the secret network of prisons run by the United Arab Emirates in southern Yemen.

Reports released by Human Rights Watch and the Associated Press on people subjected to arbitrary detention and horrific torture give an indication that a terrible massacre is being committed against justice and human dignity in Yemen. 

Violations against Yemenis by the Houthi militia and forces loyal to ousted president Saleh neither authorize any of Saudi-led military coalition members to carry out crimes and abuses, nor exempt them from bearing moral and legal responsibility.

Arresting and torturing on a large scale in a country, which is powerless by virtue of the coup d'état and war, indicate nothing but political betrayal and utter failure at the level of the human conscience. 

Most of Yemenis welcomed the Arab and international efforts to end the coup the Houthi militia allied with ousted president led against the constitutional legitimacy and the political process. 

This welcome, however, is not a blank check to commit crimes against humanity. All those who have committed abuses against Yemenis should be punished in international courts, and we should ensure that perpetrators do not escape punishment.