American Center for Justice (ACJ) Welcomes the Decision to Close Secret Prisons and Calls for Independent Investigations and Accountability

Michigan – The American Center for Justice (ACJ) welcomes the decision issued by the Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Dr. Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi, mandating the restriction and closure of secret prisons established by the United Arab Emirates and operated by the Southern Transitional Council in the governorates of Aden, Lahj, and Al-Dhalea, and the release of detainees held therein. ACJ considers this decision a long-awaited official acknowledgment of the existence of an unlawful detention system that operated for years outside the framework of the judiciary and the rule of law.

The Center affirms that this acknowledgment represents an important initial step toward ending a widespread pattern of grave human rights violations, foremost among them arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture, practices that are absolutely prohibited under the Yemeni Constitution as well as Yemen’s international obligations, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture, and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which impose on the State clear duties of prevention, investigation, accountability, and reparations.

While underscoring the importance of the decision, ACJ emphasizes that the closure of these detention facilities does not absolve Yemeni authorities of their legal and moral responsibilities. It necessitates serious and complementary measures, beginning with the establishment of an independent and impartial judicial commission of inquiry, vested with full powers to access former detention sites, hear testimony from victims and witnesses, and determine individual and institutional responsibility. Such a commission must operate under judicial oversight and with the effective participation of civil society organizations, ensuring the full disclosure of the truth and the preservation of evidence.

The Center further stresses that what occurred can only be characterized as grave and systematic violations of national law and international human rights law, requiring accountability for all those who participated in, ordered, facilitated, colluded in, or failed to prevent these abuses, including officials within security and military institutions and local authorities. ACJ calls for the temporary suspension of those implicated pending the completion of investigations, as a prelude to their prosecution in accordance with fair trial standards, and in a manner that guarantees an end to impunity.

ACJ also underscores the urgent need to provide comprehensive medical and psychological care to those released, and to guarantee their right to full reparations, compensation, and rehabilitation, including social reintegration and redress for the physical, psychological, and social harm inflicted upon them and their families. This constitutes a binding legal obligation, not an act of charity.

The American Center for Justice (ACJ) affirms that achieving transitional justice and building a state governed by the rule of law in Yemen will not be possible without full truth-telling, accountability, reparations for victims, and the adoption of institutional and legislative guarantees to prevent the recurrence of such crimes in the future. ACJ further emphasizes the necessity of transparently informing local and international public opinion of the outcomes of investigations and accountability processes, in a manner that strengthens public trust and upholds the rule of law.