Rights watchdog: Yemen Houthis use prisoners for political extortion

The head of the Yemeni Abductees’ Mothers Association, Amatusalam Al-Hajj has accused the Houthi rebels of using the prisoners and abductees issue as a bargaining chip for political gains, calling for the release all detainees without condition.

Speaking to Al Araby Al Jadid on New Year’s eve she said; “We are approaching 2023, and our children are still suffering in Houthi prisons, and some of them have spent more than seven years in captivity.”

She added that the prisoners’ exchange file is still pending between the various parties and the UN envoy’s office, and every once in a while, we “hear” the Houthis and the government exchange accusations about its delay while our “sons are the victims, and their families and mothers suffer greatly.”

Al Hajj called for the immediate release of all the civilian because they did not participate in carrying arms or in fighting, and their cause is “purely humanitarian.”

The appeal comes days after the Yemeni government and the Houthis exchanged accusations about who was obstructing the prisoner exchange under the Oman deal and in accordance with the Stockholm Agreement concluded in late 2018.

Last Thursday, the head of the Houthi prisoners’ committee, Abdul Qadir Al-Murtada, accused the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia of deliberately obstructing the prisoner exchange deal.

The Yemeni government responded to the Houthi accusations by confirming its readiness to end the prisoners and abductees file.

The prisoners and abductees file is one of the outstanding issues between the government and the Houthis.

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