SAUDI ARABIA has allegedly established a secret prison in Yemen where, it is claimed, thousands of detainees are held and many have been tortured to death by the military.

A prominent Saudi activist and whistleblower, known by the online pseudonym Mujtahidd, posted a leaked report on Twitter today, claiming the jail had been established in Yemen’s largest province, Hadhramout.

“I received a report from former detainees in a prison run by Saudi forces in Yemen,” he said. “[The prison] is kept secret [as well as] what is going on in it.” 

He warned that the secret facility was operating outside of both Saudi and Yemeni law, and was not subject to international law.

Conditions inside the prison, where thousands of Yemenis have allegedly been tortured, were described as not fit for animals.

He called on human rights organisations and the international community to press the Saudi regime to allow international monitoring of the prison.

In 2017 Saudi Arabia’s coalition partners in the war on Yemen, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was accused of operating secret prisons in the south of the country amid reports of torture, sexual abuse and rape.

The United States admitted involvement in the so-called black sites, with the Department of Defence admitting that they “participate in interrogations of detainees at locations in Yemen, provide questions for others to ask, and receive transcripts of interrogations from Emirati allies.” 

Those rounded up and held in the UAE’s secret prison network include journalists, opposition activists and community leaders.

On Monday the Yemen Press Agency reported the death of a young man who had allegedly been tortured at a jail run by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the port city of Aden.

Hussein Marwan Aidroo was reportedly kidnapped 12 days before his death, after taking part in protests demanding water and electricity services.