A/HRC/45/CRP.7 (iii) By the de facto authorities in Sana’a 173. Throughout 2019 and 2020 the de facto authorities continued to operate a network of official prisons along with unofficial and secret detention facilities. This network includes a series of secret facilities in former residential buildings in and around Sana’a, in which women and girls have been detained and subjected to violations.244 Other facilities included Sana’a Central Prison, Habra and the Security and Intelligence detention facility. The violations committed in these facilities were previously described in the Group’s 2018 and 2019 reports; this mandate’s investigations found no evidence that the violations have ceased or that the conditions of detention have improved. 174. Detainees in facilities in Sana’a were subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, in one case, for example, a man was held in a small dark room for five months.245 In another case, a woman was held in confinement for seven days in a bathroom.246 In at least 15 cases, the Group verified that detainees were subjected to torture, in some cases including sexual violence, as well as cruel and inhuman treatment, both during and outside of interrogation.247 A wide range of physical and psychological ill-treatment and torture methods were used, including suspension for prolonged periods of time, electrocution, burning, severe beating with sticks and batons, kicking, forced nudity, and rape, the latter being a widespread practice in the secret detention facilities where women and girls were kept. In one case, for instance, a woman human rights defender was rendered blind in her right eye and partially deaf as a result of severe beatings under torture.248 In another case, as a result of the severe beating, including with electric cables, a survivor was rendered unable to walk and suffers from severe chronic pain that has prevented him from resuming his job as a military judge.249 Forms of psychological torture included threats to family members, threats of rape and sexual violence, mock executions, threats to be transferred to detention facilities that had previously been targeted by coalition airstrikes, denial of access to the toilet,250 sleep deprivation and denial of natural light for long periods of time. Detainees were not provided with medical care and often the injuries and illnesses resulting from torture remained untreated, with long-term consequences for victims.251 In one of the cases investigated by the Group, the relatives of a detainee, including two children, witnessed and remained traumatised by the beating of their loved one at the hands of the prison guards during a family visit. (iv) By United Arab Emirates forces at Al-Bureiqah coalition Base, Aden 175. The Group of Experts continued to investigate torture including sexual violence perpetrated by United Arab Emirates forces at the secret detention facility in al-Bureiqa coalition Base, prior to these forces’ reported departure from the base in mid-2019. In addition to its findings in 2018 and 2019,252 the Group has verified two further cases, in which forces tortured one man and one boy. In conjunction with other torture, including beating and electrocution, they raped one detainee on more than one occasion and subjected the other to another form of sexual violence. The rape was both penile and with objects, and was used in order to humiliate detainees and coerce them into admitting false allegations. Both detainees were kept for prolonged periods of time. The length of victims’ detention at Al-Bureiqah, combined with the severity of the torture used and consequent long-term trauma and stigma, means that former detainees are likely to be delayed and/or reluctant in reporting the full extent of violations at the facility. 4. Impact on victims of detention-related violations 244 See Gender and Gender-Based Violence section paras. 205 and ff for more details Confidential sources on file. 246 Confidential sources on file. 247 Confidential sources on file. 248 Confidential sources on file. 249 Confidential sources on file. 250 Confidential sources on file. 251 Confidential sources on file. 252 See A/HRC/42/CRP.1 paras. 224, 225, 228 for more details. 245 49