The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Human Rights, a member of the Governmental Negotiations Committee, Majed Fadael, revealed the mechanism for implementing the prisoner and abductee exchange deal, its stages, and the party behind the success of the agreement and the conclusion of the deal, stressing that field visits to prisons will take place after Eid Al-Fitr.
In an expanded dialogue with Okaz, Fadhail disclosed the pivotal role of the representatives of the Arab coalition, Major General Nasser Al-Thunayan and Major General Falah Al-Shahrani, in bringing the views of the two negotiating parties closer during the meetings that were taking place individually and for long periods without the participation of the UN envoy's office and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Yemeni official pointed out that the Houthi terrorist Samira Marsh was released in exchange for the four journalists.
He added that the process of exchanging abductees and prisoners will continue for 3 days and through 6 airports, stressing that the government delegation refuses that the abducted women be subject to bargaining and bartering..and to the details of the dialogue:
The intransigence of the militia and the pivotal role of the coalition
• Your efforts have succeeded in achieving a breakthrough in the file of the kidnapped and prisoners. Can you explain to us the stages of negotiations and the challenges you faced?
•• The file of prisoners and abductees is a humanitarian file, and it is one of the main files in the process of negotiation and consultations since its inception with the Houthi militia, and it represents a starting point for building trust. Although it is a humanitarian file, it is closely linked to the entire political file and affects and is influenced by it positively and negatively, and was present in every Negotiation rounds and political consultations (Kuwait, Geneva, Stockholm). After signing the executive mechanism for exchange in the Stockholm consultations, the file went through 7 negotiating rounds sponsored and co-chaired by the Office of the UN Envoy and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Including 5 rounds in Jordan and two rounds in Switzerland, the first of which was in Montreux and was successful and was held in September 2020 AD and 1,100 prisoners and abductees were exchanged, and the second, which is the last, was in Berne, which was last March, during which we agreed to exchange 887 prisoners and abductees.
The challenges were many; Including the intransigence of the militia delegation in most of the negotiation rounds and their exploitation of the humanitarian file at the political and media level, insisting on requesting the release of prisoners of whom we have no knowledge and presenting false allegations, but we dealt with the negotiations with responsibility and high commitment based on the directives of the Presidential Leadership Council. In this round of negotiations, there was an important and pivotal role for the representatives of the Arab coalition, Major General Nasser Al-Thunayan and Major General Falah Al-Shahrani, in bringing the views closer between us and the Houthi delegation in the meetings that were taking place individually and for long periods without the participation of the Office of the UN Envoy and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and what is agreed upon We go back to the face-to-face meetings with the co-presidency and install it.
3 days for a prisoner exchange
• What is the implementation mechanism and its stages, especially since the kidnappers and supporters of legitimacy are spread over a number of parties and governorates?
•• The exchange process and the proposed implementation mechanism stipulate that the implementation process will continue for 3 days and across 6 airports as follows; On the 20th of Ramadan, corresponding to the 11th of next April, the former Minister of Defense, Major General Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, Major General Nasser Mansour Hadi, and other military prisoners will be transferred from Sana’a Airport to Aden Airport, and in return a number of Houthi elements will be transferred from Aden Airport to Sana’a Airport, and on the next day, corresponding to On the 21st of Ramadan, 19 military personnel will be transferred from Sana’a airport to Riyadh airport, and at the same time Houthi personnel will be transferred from Khamis Mushait airport to Sana’a airport. Also on the 21st of Ramadan, the son and brother of a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, Brigadier General Tariq Saleh, will be transferred to Mocha Airport, and in return A number of Houthi elements will be transferred from Al-Mokha Airport to Sana'a Airport, and on the 22nd of Ramadan, the four journalists and relatives of former Vice President Lieutenant General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar and a number of prisoners of the National Army, military and civilian leaders will be transferred from Sana'a Airport to Tadween Airport in Ma'rib Governorate, and in return they will be transferred Houthi fighters from Tadween airport in Marib to Sana'a airport.
• What is the nature of the preparations that the government team is preparing to receive the kidnapped, and will you participate with the International Committee of the Red Cross in the implementation process, or is there another team?
•• The President of the Presidential Leadership Council instructed the government and the concerned authorities to implement the approved plan for the transfer and reception of the released, and to provide health care and other required services to the detainees scheduled for release, and before that, to facilitate the tasks of the International Committee for the Red Cross and its logistical arrangements, and all members of the government delegation will participate in the implementation and will be distributed The delegation is in all the scheduled exchange areas (Aden, Marib, Mocha).
All for all
• Have you set a time mechanism for field trips to exchange visits for abductees and prisoners in prisons, and when will they take place?
•• According to the signed mechanism, the field disembarkation will take place after Eid al-Fitr, as the agreement specified the time period for the disembarkation to be two weeks before the next round expected to be held on May 15, 2023.
• Why wasn't everyone released against everyone, especially those covered by the Security Council's decision, Muhammad Qahtan, Faisal Rajab, and the rest of the kidnapped? Have you received assurances about the fate of Qahtan from the Houthis?
•• We demand the release of all in exchange for all constantly, and what is being done is a phased implementation in parts leading to the total implementation, including the four included in the UN Security Council resolution and all the kidnapped people, and we also demanded the release of Muhammad Qahtan and Major General Faisal Rajab in all negotiating rounds, and in this round in particular But in fact, we do not know the fate of Muhammad Qahtan, and his health condition has not been officially disclosed, while we insist on that, as this is a moral and human responsibility, as failure to disclose is contrary to international laws related to human rights, as all we have is time when he was kidnapped from his home while he was a political civilian Kabir and one of the most important party leaders in Yemen, it is difficult to negotiate to exchange him when we do not know his fate and status and whether he is alive or dead? Therefore, we asked to be allowed to visit him, and the current agreement provides for mutual visits without exception, and on top of them are those who remain covered by the Security Council resolution.
Barter and exchange, not the release of prisoners
• Although the agreement was positive, there are those who believe that the number is not equal; 706 vs. 181 Why?
A: What is happening is not a process of releasing detainees, abductees, and prisoners, but rather a process of barter and exchange, that is, an exchange process, either one for one, or one for a hundred, or perhaps more, and this agreement is not new or a spur of the moment, rather it is an implementation mechanism for a signed agreement Previously in March last year, and the agreement was talking about 2,223 people. In this round, it was agreed to implement part of it with a number of 887 detainees distributed as follows: 600 (Houthi captive) versus 23 (19 from the Arab coalition), Major General Nasser Mansour, brother of the former president, and Major General Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, Minister The former defense, Afash Tariq and Muhammad Salih, son and brother of the vice-chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Brigadier General Tariq Salih, in addition to 157 prisoners and abductees from the legitimacy (including the four journalists sentenced to death and a number of other courts, military and civilian leaders) in exchange for 107 Houthi prisoners.
The fate of the abductees
• The Houthis are talking about the release of the terrorist Samira Marsh. What is the fate of the abducted women in Houthi prisons, and why were they not exchanged for them, especially those against whom sentences such as Intisar Al-Hammadi and others were issued?
A: It is true that she is a criminal woman who committed many terrorist crimes. Al-Houthi was constantly demanding her, and after several negotiations, we accepted to exchange her for the four journalists sentenced to death, in order to give priority to the public interest and to save the lives of innocent journalists who were subjected to abuse and torture during their long years of kidnapping. In fact, we demand the release of all Abducted women are unconditionally in militia prisons, and we do not want to include the abducted women in the negotiation process for an exchange; Because we do not want him to be subject to bargaining and bartering, because as I said earlier, the process that is taking place is not a process of release or release, but rather a process of exchange and barter, and it is not fair, as there must be alternatives for each party that the other party accepts, and so on.
The next round.. when and where?
• What are your expectations for the results of the upcoming negotiations, the number that will be negotiated, and when and where will the negotiations take place?
•• It is expected that the next negotiations will take place on May 15, 2023 AD, during which the agreed numbers will be expanded and the transition to the third stage of implementation, and there is no specific number for negotiation, but it can be said that what remains of the number 2223 mentioned in the March 2022 agreement, which will be a basis and starting point that can be built upon and expanded The numbers, including the largest number that can be released, has not yet been decided on the location of the next round of negotiations.
In the government negotiating delegation, we will make sure that the list of those who will be released is broad, and we hope that it includes everyone, and at the top of the list is Muhammad Qahtan, after revealing his fate and his visit, and Major General Faisal Rajab, in addition to the rest of the courts, opinion writers, the elderly, the sick, the wounded, academics, and others.
His interview: Ahmed Al-Shamiri @a_shmeri
