From a Lifeline to an Emirati Unofficial Detention Center
Riyan International Airport is located in the Riyan area of Mukalla, the capital of Hadramout Governorate, overlooking the Arabian Sea. Riyan International Airport—also known as Mukalla Airport—is the third most important airport in Yemen. For many years, it served as a vital lifeline for Hadramout and the eastern governorates, including Al-Mahra, Socotra, and Shabwa, due to its role in passenger and cargo transport and its strategic location connecting eastern Yemen to the outside world and to other governorates.
Riyan International Airport continued to provide services to travelers normally until April 2, 2015, when it ceased operations entirely following the fall of the city of Mukalla and the Hadramout coast to the control of Al-Qaeda, including Riyan International Airport, which was subjected to looting and sabotage that affected its infrastructure and navigational equipment.
Approximately one year after Al-Qaeda took control of Mukalla, the Hadrami Elite Forces—militarily affiliated with the Second Military Region—launched a military operation supported by the Saudi/UAE-led coalition. On the morning of April 25, 2016, they announced the defeat of Al-Qaeda and full control over the city of Mukalla, the port, and the airport. Following this, Riyan International Airport remained under the effective control and administration of UAE forces, which used it as a main base for managing military and security operations along the Hadramout coast, while also using it as an unofficial place of detention and keeping it closed to civilian air traffic.
During the period of Emirati control over Riyan International Airport and its use as an unofficial detention facility, Mwatana for Human Rights documented the detention of at least 72 victims at “Riyan International Airport,” including 25 victims who were subjected to torture and 21 victims who were subjected to enforced disappearance and Based on testimonies from dozens of victims documented by Mwatana, detainees at Riyan International Airport were subjected to various forms of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. These included deprivation of sleep, food, and water; prevention from practicing religious rituals; the use of electric shocks; forced stripping; kicking and beating; whipping; burning with cigarette ends; and sexual violence involving the use of objects.
Mwatana for Human Rights calls for the immediate closure of the unofficial detention center at Riyan International Airport in Mukalla; the disclosure of the fate of those forcibly disappeared; the release of all those arbitrarily detained; an end to all forms of detention outside the framework of the law; the subjection of all detention centers to the authority of the judiciary and the Public Prosecution; the accountability of those responsible for committing violations at the center; the provision of redress and reparations to victims; and efforts to ensure that such violations are not repeated in the future.
