Criticism in France for silence on the UAE conversion of a Total gas facility to prison in Yemen

France has been heavily criticized for silence over the UAE’s conversion of a Yemeni gas facility run by the French group Total to a prison for gross human rights violations.

French MP Clementine Etienne expressed surprise at the French Defense Ministry’s denial of her knowledge of the prison set up by the UAE authorities at the Total gas facility.

Etienne raised the issue, which was revealed by Le Monde two weeks ago, and said in an intervention that three NGOs issued a report based on multiple testimonies and sources confirming the existence of a solitary confinement and torture center inside the gas liquefaction complex in the southern Balhaf region.

The MP questioned the video, posted on her Twitter page, about the role assigned to France in the site, which now includes a prison as a partner in its capital by 39%, and the position of the country that sells arms to the UAE.

Etienne likened the order to the US-run Guantanamo prison in Cuba, denouncing such practices since 2016 in Yemen, and stressed the need for French authorities to take responsibility for the prison by questioning Total.

The MP – in a tweet attached to the video – that she asked the French Minister of Defense about the transformation of the oil facility to a prison for torture and arbitrary arrests, I was surprised that the Minister less aware of the matter than readers of Le Monde newspaper, as she put it.