Houthi Intransigence Hampers Prisoner Negotiations
The Yemeni government announces the postponement of a new round of talks on prisoners and detainees scheduled to take place in Jordan indefinitely
The Houthis insist on obtaining UN guarantees to resume negotiations with the Yemeni government on prisoners, marking a new episode in a series of obstacles posed by the group in the prisoners’ file, the latest being in November in Switzerland, citing events in Palestine. They attempted to exploit the file politically and media-wise, and the consultations scheduled for January 8 were canceled.
Abdulqader Al-Mortada, the head of the Houthi Prisoners Affairs Committee, said in a brief statement posted on the X platform, “We have no objection to attending any round of negotiations on the prisoners’ file if we obtain guarantees from the United Nations to implement the previous agreements sponsored by them.” He added, “However, the accumulation of agreements without implementation, as is happening on the part of the mercenaries (referring to the legitimate Yemeni government), only complicates the file and increases the suffering of the prisoners on both sides.” The Yemeni government accuses the Houthi group of attempting to sabotage discussions by being selective in names or demanding the release of detainees not in the custody of government forces, hindering negotiation rounds and the release of more prisoners and detainees.
The new Houthi stance comes a day after the Yemeni government announced the postponement of a new round of talks on prisoners and detainees scheduled to take place in Jordan this week indefinitely, accusing Ansar Allah (Houthis) of “intransigence,” “hindering its convening,” and “exploiting humanitarian files politically and media-wise.”
Majed Fadhil, the spokesperson for the Yemeni government’s negotiating team on prisoners, stated through X, “The round of negotiations on prisoners and abductees in Jordan has been postponed indefinitely, after the intransigence and obstruction of the Houthi, preventing this meeting scheduled for this week.” Informed sources mentioned that the failure of previous rounds was due to the Houthis‘ lack of commitment and their handling of the case of the political detainee in the group, Mohammed Qahtan, a member of the Supreme Committee for the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, the second-largest party in Yemen, held by the group since April 5, 2015. The Yemeni government seeks the release of all detainees based on the principle of “all for all” and accuses the Houthis of repeatedly attempting to sabotage discussions by being selective in names or demanding the release of detainees not in the custody of government forces.
During the two previous releases, the Houthis released 3 out of 4 individuals covered by UN Security Council Resolution 2216, including the former president’s brother Nasser Mansour, former Defense Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi, and military commander Faisal Rajab. However, the release of the fourth individual, Qahtan, is still refused, and no information is provided about his health or allowing his family to communicate with him.
In May last year, efforts to implement reciprocal visits between the Yemeni government and the Houthis to prisons and detention centers of both parties in Sanaa and Marib in northeastern Yemen, to launch a new batch of prisoners, were stalled after the government delegation conditioned revealing Qahtan’s fate.
On June 18 last year, consultations between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group concluded in Amman under the auspices of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, agreeing on a negotiation round after the last Eid al-Adha to release a new batch of 1400 prisoners. However, it did not take place.
The previous negotiating rounds, sponsored by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, succeeded in releasing two batches of prisoners and detainees from various parties to the Yemeni conflict, with more than 1000 released in the first batch and about 900 in the second.
On April 17 last year, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced the implementation of an agreement reached by the Yemeni government and Ansar Allah during the Switzerland negotiations in March of the same year, to release about 887 prisoners, confirming it as a “positive step towards peace and reconciliation in Yemen.”
During consultations in Sweden in 2018, the two parties presented lists of more than 15,000 prisoners, detainees, and abductees. However, there is no accurate official count of the numbers after that date. The country has been witnessing continuous power struggles for the ninth consecutive year, reflecting its impact on various aspects. It has caused a humanitarian crisis described by the United Nations as the worst in the world. For nearly two years, Yemen has experienced a relative calm.
