Houthis to release key ally of Saudi-backed government, unclear if he is alive

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis will release Mohammed Qahtan, leader of the Islah party, under a deal reached with the Saudi-backed government in Aden, top Houthi negotiator Abdul Qadir Al-Murtada tells Reuters.

The Houthis have not confirmed if Qahtan is dead or alive, a government negotiator, who did not want to be named, tells Reuters.

Qahtan, whose Islah party is a powerful member of the Saudi-backed government, was detained by the Houthis in 2015. His family said they have not been permitted to visit him and they do not know where he has been held.

If Qahtan is dead, his body will be exchanged for 50 Houthi bodies in government possession and if he is alive he will be swapped for 50 live Houthis held in government detention, Al-Murtada said in a statement to Yemen’s SABA news agency.

Al-Murtada did not respond to a Reuters query about Qahtan’s condition.

The Houthis refused to disclose Qahtan’s status earlier this year, a key government demand that led to the failure of two previous rounds of prisoners swap negotiations.

Negotiators from both sides exchanged lists totaling around 400 prisoners for possible release, Al-Murtada says.

No agreement was reached, but prisoner talks will continue in the Omani-capital Muscat, he says.

Prisoner release talks have formed an important confidence-building measure as part of a broader peace process to end Yemen’s decade-long civil war that is being mediated by Oman and the United Nations.