A/HRC/42/CRP.1 is located in al-Bureiqa District286 approximately 2.5 km north of the coalition-United Arab Emirates al-Bureiqa Military Base, and 10 km east of Aden City. Bir Ahmed II was constructed by the United Arab Emirates and became operational on 12 November 2017. 287 Security Belt forces, often from the Counter Terrorism Unit, carried out almost all arrests of detainees held at Bir Ahmed II, al-Bureiqa, and the smaller unofficial sites in Aden described below. United Arab Emirates-backed Abu al-Abbas Brigades288 and Shabwah and Hadrami Elite forces also carried out arrests of detainees held at the facilities. 227. As of 30 June 2019, approximately 157 men and boys were detained at Bir Ahmed II. Most have been held arbitrarily for periods between 4 months and two and a half years,289 while others, whom the Group was aware were previously held there, have been disappeared for over a year.290 The 157 detainees include 65 former Houthi fighters (including at least 11 boys), detained since 2015, who have not been charged or formally accused as required by the Military Penal Code and international law. Government efforts to bring charges have been frustrated by those in control of the prison. Some of the former Houthi fighters remain detained in an underground bunker separate from the main facility population. In 2018, the Group documented 71 former Houthi fighters at the facility, leaving six unaccounted for. 228. At Bir Ahmed II, solitary confinement and beatings continued to occur, with solitary confinement or a transfer to al-Bureiqa being used for those high-profile ‘anti-United Arab Emirates’ detainees, including activists, and members of the Yemeni armed forces. 291 As reported in the Group’s 2018 report, at Bir Ahmed II in November-March 2018, United Arab Emirates military personnel stripped up to 200 detainees naked in front of each other and carried out invasive searches for mobile phones. Multiple detainees were digitally raped and raped with sticks and tools by guards during these searches.292 At the time of writing, family visits and communication with detainees were still prohibited by the detention facility authorities. Female relatives of detainees who demonstrated against this prohibition were met with violence.293 This coincided with the arrival of new Security Belt guards in March 2019 who raided detainees’ cellsand assaulted detainees on more than one occasion whilst searching for mobile phones. The current situation at Bir Ahmed II, involving raids by Security Belt personnel for similar reasons, and the absence of any oversight of the facility by the Government of Yemen puts detainees at continued risk of torture and sexual violence. 229. On 20 July 2019, 13 of the above-mentioned 157 detainees held at Bir Ahmed II were released. Their releases had been ordered in some cases six months earlier by the public prosecutor, during which time detainees remained incarcerated and were subjected to ill-treatment. These detainees had been kept for over a year, and reportedly in some cases up to four years294. 230. While the Government has publicly stated at times that it has control of the facility, it has also stated at other times that it does not have control over the facility. According to reliable evidence, it is clear that the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence, judiciary, and Public Prosecutor have no effective control over detention and releases at Bir Ahmed II. Instead, releases can only be approved by the United Arab Emirates. 295 (c) Unofficial Security Belt facilities, Aden 286 Located at 12.835020, 44.885707. Confidential Sources on File. See also S/2018/68. 288 Confidential Sources on File. 289 Confidential Sources on File. 290 Confidential Sources on File. 291 Confidential Sources on File. 292 A/HRC/39/43. 293 Confidential Sources on File. For further details also see Section 4 below. 294 Confidential Sources on File. 295 Confidential Sources on File. 287 54