The head of the National Committee for Prisoners Affairs, Abdul Qadir Al-Murtadha, confirmed on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia has prevented a prisoner exchange through local mediation that would have included 250 prisoners from both sides in Taiz.
“We agreed with the other party in Taiz on a prisoner exchange that includes 250 prisoners and detainees from both sides, and all the necessary arrangements for implementing the deal were completed in the middle of last Ramadan [mid-April], but unfortunately this deal is still suspended due to Saudi Arabia preventing its implementation, alongside with several other exchanges form different fronts,” Al-Murtadha explained in a tweet.
إتفقنا مع الطرف الآخر في تعز على صفقة تبادل تشمل 250 أسير ومعتقل من الطرفين وتم إستكمال كل الترتيبات اللازمة لتنفيذ الصفقة منتصف شهر رمضان الماضي.
لكن للأسف لا زالت هذه الصفقة معلقة بسبب منع السعودية تنفيذها مع عدة عمليات تبادل إخرى في بقية الجبهات.— عبدالقادر المرتضى (@abdulqadermortd) June 9, 2021
The Head of the Prisoners Committee indicated on June 6 that new Saudi directives to mercenaries stipulated the suspension of all exchanges agreed through local mediation, which led to the suspension of seven exchanges on several fronts, including more than 400 prisoners from both sides.