News - Yemen: Head of the National Committee for Prisoners' Affairs, Abdulqader Al-Murtadha, affirmed on Thursday that the Sana’a delegation has no objection to attending any round of negotiations on the prisoners' aspect if it receives assurances from the United Nations regarding the implementation of previous agreements sponsored by it.

Murtadha emphasized that accumulating agreements without implementation - as is happening on the mercenaries' side - complicates the issue and increases the suffering of the prisoners on both sides.

In July, Al-Murtada raised concerns about the ill-treatment of prisoners by US-Saudi mercenaries in Yemen. He revealed that if mutual visits were allowed, the mistreatment of prisoners in US-Saudi-controlled prisons would be exposed.

Al-Murtada stated that his committee had gathered evidence confirming that the US-Saudi mercenaries committed crimes against prisoners, including torture and medical neglect. He dismissed the mercenaries' allegations of torture against prisoners  in Sana'a as an attempt to cover up their own crimes.

The head of the National Committee for Prisoners Affairs criticized the United Nations for its weak stance in uncovering crimes against prisoners. He called on international organizations to take immediate action and visit all prisons in Yemen, expressing readiness to open the prisons for scrutiny.

Al-Murtada revealed that negotiations for a prisoner exchange deal had been hindered by the mercenaries' obstruction. He accused them of using the prisoners' issue for extortion and lacking seriousness in pursuing an exchange. Despite efforts by the committee, the prisoners' issue remained stagnant, with the United Nations failing to exert pressure on the US-Saudi aggression and its mercenaries to implement agreed-upon measures.

Furthermore, the mercenaries continued to obstruct prison visits between Sana'a and Marib, preventing scrutiny of the attacks and torture inflicted upon prisoners in Marib prisons.

In May, a planned prison visit scheduled by the United Nations in Marib was thwarted by the US-Saudi mercenaries. The committee had intended to hold a new round of negotiations following completion of the visits as a step towards implementing the March 2022 agreement. However, the mercenaries' intransigence and refusal to allow visits hindered progress in the prisoners' issue.

Despite the obstacles, the committee remains committed to completing the visits and facilitating the prisoner exchange process. Sana'a expressed readiness to engage in a comprehensive deal for the release of all prisoners, but obstruction from the US-Saudi mercenaries persists.