A French lawmaker denounces the country's ignorance of turning the Total gas facility in Yemen into an Emirati prison

French MP Clementine Etienne condemned the prison set up by the UAE authorities at a Yemeni gas facility run by the French group Total, and expressed surprise at the denial of knowledge by the country's defense ministry.

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.

Le Monde asked when it published the report whether Total was unaware of the existence of the prison in the scope of its investments, where there are still Yemeni employees working on the maintenance of industrial facilities.

Total and the French state, which supported its industrial project in Yemen, cannot ignore the fact that a number of Shabwa residents spoke of arbitrary arrests and detentions in the province, pointing the finger at Balhaf, where the main military base is located.