Conflicting news about the fate of politician Muhammad Qahtan
English - Tuesday 21 March 2023 الساعة 07:17 am
Taiz, NewsYemen, Exclusive:
There have been conflicting reports about the fate of the politician and leader of the Islah party, Muhammad Qahtan, who has been in the detention centers of the terrorist Houthi militia, Iran's arm in Yemen, since 2015. He was not included in the prisoner exchange agreement between the government and the militias that was concluded, Monday, in Switzerland under the auspices of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The absence of the politician Qahtan's name from any negotiations regarding the prisoners and detainees raised a lot of confusion and questions about his fate, especially since he is the only one whose family has not been able to communicate with him since his arrest and enforced disappearance in Sana'a.
A diplomatic source in the Yemeni government, who preferred not to be identified, revealed to the Chinese news agency Xinhua that the Houthi group delegation, after insistent demands from the government delegation, officially spoke for the first time about the fate of the Yemeni politician, Muhammad Qahtan, and confirmed that he died years ago in detention, and that they are keeping his body.
The source indicated that the Houthi delegation refused to provide more information about the circumstances of the death of politician Qahtan, but the delegation confirmed that it does not mind discussing the matter extensively during an upcoming round of negotiations, as well as handing over his body.
However, this statement was denied by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Human Rights and a member of the government's committee for the exchange of prisoners and abductees, Majed Fadayel, in a tweet on his Twitter account, to raise the question about the fate of the politician Qahtan.
Fadayel tweeted: "There is no truth in what is being circulated about that we obtained official information about the death of the politician, Professor Muhammad Qahtan."
Regarding the absence of his name in the previous and current exchange deal, Fadayel explained that the demands and offers of the government delegation were never subject to any discrimination or selection and included everyone, including Brigadier General Faisal Rajab and politician Muhammad Qahtan and all detainees and kidnapped politicians, academics and media professionals, as well as prisoners from all fronts, including Hajour fronts in Hajjah governorate.
He added that the agreement reached today to release 887 prisoners, detainees and abductees is part of a whole, and during the coming period, other rounds of negotiations will be held to lead to the release of all.
He said, "Despite the intransigence and intransigence shown by the Houthis in the file of prisoners, we in the government delegation continue to press and make all efforts by various means until the release of the last prisoner held by the Houthis."
