Brother of Yemen president to be released 'in next prisoner swap', Houthis say
Nasser Mansour Hadi, who has been held by the Houthis since the war erupted in 2015, will be among the names listed in the upcoming prisoner swap, the rebels said.
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The president's brother has been held since 2015 [Twitter]
The brother of Yemen’s President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi will be freed among detainees in the upcoming prisoner swap, the Houthi rebels announced on Saturday.
Nasser Mansour Hadi, who has been held by the rebels since the war erupted in 2015, will be listed in the 101 prisoners due to be freed in exchange for 200 rebels held by the government and its allies, according to Abdul Qadir al-Murtada, who heads the prisoner negotiation department.
The move was also announced by Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, the former president of the rebel's Revolutionary Committee or Revolutionary Council.
The UN-sponsored negotiations are due to take place in Jordan this month. Both the Houthis and the government have already expressed willingness to take part.
Al-Murtada also urged Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to participate in this round of discussions to negotiate the release of their prisoners, without providing more details.
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“We are ready for this round of negotiations and full readiness to to conduct a comprehecive exchange and release process whether the Houthi militia adheres to what they signed,” the Undersecretary of the Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights Majed Fadayel said, according to Arabi21.
“We have agreed to enter into a round of consultations in order to expand the number of prisoners and abductees in the exchange process, including the four covered by the Security Council resolution,” he said, referring to former minister of defence, Major General Mahmoud al-Subaihi, Brigadier General Faisal Rajab, Head of the Islah Party Muhammad Qahtan, and the brother of the the president.
In October, Yemen witnessed the biggest such exchange of prisoners since the war erupted in 2015.
Read also: Yemen in Focus: Prisoner release a 'moment of joy' after years of misery
The prisoner swap was a result of negotiations in Switzerland and involved the release of 1,081 prisoners over two days.
The complex operation was overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross and was hailed by activists and rights group alike as a major moment of relief after years of war.
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