Government orders probe into reports of detainee torture

SANAA, Yemen — Yemen’s internationally recognized government on Saturday ordered the creation of a committee to investigate allegations of human rights violations, after reports that U.S. military interrogators worked with forces from the United Arab Emirates who are accused of torturing detainees in Yemen.

A copy of the order issued by Prime Minister Ahmed Obaid bin Daghr was obtained by the Associated Press. It said the investigation would focus on areas liberated by government forces from Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies.

The six-member committee will be chaired by Justice Minister Jamal Mohamed Omar and include representatives from the Human Rights Ministry, security agencies and the prosecution. It will immediately start work and have 15 days to conclude its investigation and report back to bin Dagher.

The reports of the abuses were revealed in an Associated Press investigation published Thursday. The investigation detailed a network of secret prisons across southern Yemen where hundreds are detained in the hunt for al Qaeda militants. American defense officials said U.S. forces have interrogated some detainees in Yemen but denied any participation in, or knowledge of, human rights abuses.

Defense officials told the Associated Press that the department had looked into reports of torture and concluded that its personnel were not involved or aware of any abuses. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Friday that the allegations are “completely untrue.”