Sanaa says ready to release coalition detainees as part of swap deal

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
3 Oct 2023 23:14
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The head of Sanaa's prisoners' committee says the prisoner swap deal signed in Switzerland is in a state of deadlock due to the lack of seriousness from the Saudi-led coalition.

Abdul Qader al-Murtada, the head of the National Committee for Prisoners' Affairs in the Sanaa government. (SABA)

The government of Sanaa expressed on Tuesday its readiness to release Saudi and Sudanese detainees who had been fighting alongside the Saudi-led coalition forces.

Sanaa has stipulated that the release be part of a prisoner exchange deal that includes the coalition-appointed Yemeni government, adding that the Saudi-led coalition is not serious about finalizing such a deal.

Abdul Qader al-Murtada, the head of the National Committee for Prisoners' Affairs in the Sanaa government, stated that the "prisoner exchange deal signed in Switzerland is in a state of deadlock due to the lack of seriousness from the coalition of aggression," as quoted by the Yemeni Al-Masirah TV.

Al-Murtada confirmed that Sanaa has agreed to a key demand of the Saudi-backed "Marib forces", which is to reveal the fate of the Islah Party leader Mohammad Qahtan and include him in a future deal. However, Sanaa's request to disclose the fate of its prisoners or allow officials to visit Marib's prisons was rebuffed.

The official revealed that the Saudi-led coalition "has not been serious about the prisoner file so far," adding that this reflects "stubbornness and procrastination" on the part of more than one side involved in the negotiations.

He confirmed that the Sanaa government does indeed hold Saudi and Sudanese detainees who fought within coalition forces, expressing Sanaa's readiness to work on "a comprehensive deal that includes prisoners from all parties."

It is worth noting that in June 2023, talks between the Sanaa government and the coalition-appointed government on the prisoners' file ended in an agreement for a new round of negotiations following Eid al-Adha, however, no serious talks have taken place since.

Attempts to draw the two sides closer to a prisoner exchange deal, via reciprocal visits to prisons in Marib and Sanaa were hindered in May this year after the coalition-appointed government added a new batch of conditions. According to both governments' figures, there is a total of 15,000 detainees on both sides.

On April 17, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that a deal had been reached for the release of around 887 detainees, during negotiations that took place in Switzerland between the two sides.

Although talks are ongoing between Sanaa and different sides of the Saudi-led coalition, including Riyadh itself, progress on several issues including detainees, the lifting of the blockade on Yemen, and other humanitarian issues have not seen significant progress.