Al-Murtada reveals details of the upcoming prisoner swap

The head of the National Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, Abdul Qadir Al-Murtada, revealed, on Monday, the details and mechanism for implementing the prisoner exchange deal, which was announced recently, pointing out that there are preparations from their side to receive their prisoners in a way that suits their steadfastness.

Al-Murtada said in a press conference held at Sanaa International Airport, following the return of the prisoners’ committee delegation from Geneva: The implementation of the recently announced agreement will take place during the 19th and 20th of the current month of Ramadan, which corresponds to the 10th and 11th of April.

The agreement, which was reached during the last round of negotiations in Geneva, includes the release of 706 prisoners of the national side, including women and civilians, in exchange for the release of 181 prisoners of the enemy, including Saudis and Sudanese.

Al-Murtada explained that the International Committee of the Red Cross will supervise the implementation of the agreement in three phases: the first phase in which the prisoners will be transferred between Sanaa and Aden, the second between Sanaa and Riyadh, and the third between Sanaa and Marib.

“We hoped that the deal would be greater than what was agreed upon, but the situation of the other party did not allow that, as they were several parties, so we could not reach a comprehensive and complete agreement with them that includes all prisoners and all detainees from all sides,” he added.

Al-Murtada had made it clear earlier that the differences between the mercenaries and the enemy parties prevented a comprehensive exchange of prisoners.

The head of the Prisoners’ Affairs Committee stated that during the last round of talks, it was agreed to form committees from both sides to visit prisons in Marib and Sanaa, in preparation for a subsequent round in May, under the auspices of the United Nations.

He stressed that “preparations are currently underway for a grant welcome for the prisoners, that suits their sacrifices and patience,” hoping that the other party will not abandon the implementation of the agreement.

The file of prisoners is considered one of the most important priority files that Sanaa insists on the need to address in order to move towards real peace, but the aggression coalition and its sponsors still refuse a comprehensive exchange.