News - Yemen:  The International Committee of the Red Cross, ICRC, delegation in Yemen visited the prisoners of the US-Saudi aggression and mercenaries at their detention facility in the capital, Sana'a.

"We allow the Red Cross to make regular and permanent visits to the detention center since its establishment in Sana'a in 2019, and it meets with the prisoners individually and takes the procedures approved by the International Committee of the Red Cross all over the world," he explained.

He added, "We regret that the other side did not allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit any of the prisons, especially Ma'rib prisons, and it did not allow the prisoners to communicate with their families to visit prisoners who suffer great suffering in enemy prisons."

Al-Murtadha said, "We previously had separate prisons, but after the aggression targeted three prisons repeatedly, and dozens of them were killed, we put the prisoners in one headquarters, which is the main detention center that includes prisoners from all fronts, and we took all measures with the Red Cross and the Office of the UN Envoy to ensure that no forces were targeted the detention center."

Al-Murtadha confirmed that negotiations are still continuing with the other party through the United Nations to implement the agreement signed last March.

He added, "The agreement with the other party was that in the months of April and May, all the disclosures would be exchanged and arrangements would be made with the International Committee of the Red Cross to implement the agreement, but unfortunately, the mercenaries obstructed it, and we reached with them only 20 percent of the agreed statements, and the road is still takes a long time to get to the full statements of the prisoners who are supposed to be released."

The head of the Prisoners' Affairs Committee explained that the mercenaries set new requirements, which contributed to obstructing the implementation of the agreement, by refraining from providing the required statements and the names that had been agreed upon, which contributed to the delay in resolving the issue with the mercenaries.

He stressed that the names that were settled by 20% were with Saudi Arabia, while the issue with the mercenaries was not resolved, pointing out that the party most obstructing the implementation of the agreement and the exchange is the Islah party in Marib.

He said, "We believe that the changes that Saudi Arabia made recently in the structure of the mercenary leadership and the formation of the so-called leadership council had a significant impact on the decisions of the Islah party, because the party was excluded from the political scene, which negatively affected the course of the negotiations and agreements.

For his part, Deputy Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Yemen, "Ralph Wehbe", confirmed that the visit to the detention facility in the capital, Sana'a, is taking place according to the work procedures followed by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which are carried out in various countries of the world.

He pointed out that the detention facility in Sana'a has been visited since 2019, and the visits have been repeated periodically since that date, and things are going according to the procedures of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

He added, "We are thankful and grateful for the cooperation between the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Prisoners' Affairs Committee, and we always strive, during the existing dialogue with those in charge of the Committee, to facilitate our work," expressing his happiness for this humanitarian work.

He said, "We always seek through dialogue to assist in the exchange of prisoners, and any recommendations or observations and a desire to reach other places, and the dialogue continues to exchange bilaterally with the relevant authorities on this issue."

He stressed the committee's endeavor to provide services to detainees such as restoring family links, helping them communicate with their families, and building capacities to improve the quality of services provided in places of detention.

He stated that, during the visit, the committee counts the detainees, especially as negotiations are taking place in this regard under the auspices of the UN envoy's office and determine the process of their exchange that will take place soon, which enables the committee to play the role of a neutral mediator to facilitate the exchange process and the release of prisoners.