Yemeni government to free 50 Houthi detainees in exchange for prominent politician

By Shukri Hussein

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – The Yemeni government said Wednesday it will release 50 Houthi rebels in exchange for a prominent political figure held by the group.

“An agreement has been reached with the Houthi group to release Mohammed Qahtan in exchange for 50 Houthis,” government negotiator Majed Fadail told Anadolu.

Qahtan is a prominent figure in the Islah Party, Yemen’s largest Islamic party, and one of four individuals listed in UN Security Council Resolution 2216 of 2015, which mandates the release of these individuals by the Houthi group.

He was detained by the Houthis on April 5, 2015, shortly after the group placed him under house arrest. His family remains unaware of his whereabouts or condition.

Houthi leader Abdel-Qadir al-Mortada confirmed reaching a deal with the government to free 50 Houthi rebels in exchange for Qahtan.

“The agreement includes handing over 50 bodies of the group’s fighters if Qahtan is dead,” he said, without further details.

The Yemeni government and Houthis launched a new round of UN-sponsored prisoner swap negotiations in Oman on Sunday.

Since their consultations in Stockholm in 2018, the Yemeni government and the Houthis have presented lists containing over 15,000 prisoners and detainees, although the exact number remains uncertain.

In April 2023, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN, the two rivals exchanged around 900 detainees after negotiations in Switzerland.

Yemen has seen relative calm since April 2022 in a conflict that began nearly a decade ago between forces loyal to the legitimate government and the Houthi group, which has controlled various provinces and cities, including the capital Sanaa, since 2014.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala