Media shown alleged secret prisons in southern Yemen (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: We're in a prison in southern Yemen. Long been known to exist, but this is the first time cameras have been allowed inside. They're in former UAE military bases. The Yemeni government has invited us on an escorted visit, exposing the secrets of their former coalition partner. We've been investigating these STC prisons for years. We've always known they've existed. But to have the Yemeni government backed by the Saudi-led coalition bring us here with all the Saudi media is quite an extraordinary moment in this conflict. We've known about these prisons all along, and I'm sure that the Yemeni government and the Saudi-led coalition knew about them too. So why now? Why expose the Emiratis now?

[00:00:47] Speaker 2: We weren't able to access locations that were under UAE control until now. When we liberated we discovered these prisons, even though we were told by many victims that these prisons exist. But we didn't believe it was true.

[00:01:04] Speaker 1: We found a former prisoner that was held in this site. He wanted to remain anonymous, afraid the UAE forces might return.

[00:01:14] Speaker 3: All types of torture. When we were interrogated it was the worst. They even sexually abused us and said they will bring in the doctor. This so-called doctor was an Emirati soldier. He beat us and ordered the soldiers to beat us too. I tried to kill myself multiple times to make it end.

[00:01:35] Speaker 1: We put our allegations to the UAE, but they did not respond to our request for comment. It was here, in late December, that the alliance between the UAE and Saudi Arabia began to unravel. Burnt-out cars sit along the edge of Mukalla's port, where Saudi Arabia carried out a strike. A warning to the UAE, who they accused of delivering weapons to southern Yemeni separatists. The Yemeni government is keen to show us it can fill the vacuum left by the UAE. The Emiratis had built a powerful force here, tasked with counter-terrorism operations in southern Yemen. Yemen's people have endured a decade of war. And while the power struggle between the UAE and Saudi Arabia continues to play out, Yemen's future hangs in the balance. Nawal al-Makhafi, BBC News, Mukalla, Yemen.