Prisoner exchange deals with Saudi Arabia hit another stalemate due to lack of Saudi cooperation

Prisoner exchange deals with Saudi Arabia hit another stalemate due to lack of Saudi cooperation

The head of the National Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs in Sana’a, Abdulqadir Al-Murtadha, revealed on Tuesday the latest developments related to the war prisoners’ file with the Saudi-led coalition and its parties inside.

Al-Murtadha confirmed in a press statement on Tuesday that “the prisoner exchange deal signed in Switzerland is going through a stalemate due to the lack of seriousness of the coalition.”

“We agreed to the request of the other party in Ma’rib to reveal the fate of Qahtan and include him in the deal, but they refused to reveal the fate of our prisoners or visit the prisons of Ma’rib,” he said.

He pointed out that the coalition has not been serious about the prisoner issue until now, and this reflects stubbornness and procrastination on the part of more than one faction of the other party and UN position weakness.

Al-Murtadha affirmed that Sana’a still has Saudi and Sudanese prisoners, stressing that Sana’a is ready to enter into a comprehensive deal that includes prisoners from all parties.

He added: “It is not possible to enter into a bilateral deal with the Saudi party because it is the primary official of the other party,” while the file of prisoners by the coalition party in Ketaf was proposed by Sana’a and rejected by the other party.