The Yemeni government has voiced its rejection of participation in any future UN-mediated prisoner exchange negotiations with the Houthi militia.
The decision comes in response to the militia’s refusal to reveal the location of detained politician Mohammed Qahtan and denial of visit by his family and other government officials to him, Xinhua news agency quoted Hadi Haig, head of the government delegation in the prisoner talks, as saying on Twitter.
“We will not participate in any further talks until this visit occurs. We hope that the UN envoy’s office will exert pressure in this regard to expedite progress on this matter.”
Qahtan, a prominent Yemeni politician of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islah party, was forcefully abducted by the Houthis eight years ago in the capital Sanaa.
The Houthis have remained unresponsive to repeated appeals from the UN, local and international human rights groups, as well as the politician’s family for access to Qahtan.
The lack of cooperation and transparency from the Houthi side has fueled growing concerns over Qahtan’s suffering in custody, including the possibility of his death.
UN-brokered negotiations in March successfully led to the release of nearly 900 prisoners in April, marking the second-largest prisoner exchange between the warring sides since the start of the Yemen civil war more than eight years ago.
High-profile figures, including Nasser Mansour Hadi, the brother of former president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and Mahmoud Al Subeihi, the country’s former defence minister, were among those who were freed.
The prisoner swap was considered a vital step toward building trust between the government and the Houthi militia, as well as resolving the protracted crisis in Yemen.
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