Murtadha Announces Conclusion of Prisoner Negotiations in Muscat, Confirms Agreement on Qahtan Issue

The round of prisoner negotiations concluded on Saturday in the Omani capital, Muscat, with an agreement to resume talks in two months.

Abdulqader Al-Murtadha, head of the National Committee for Prisoners, announced on his X platform page that “today’s round of negotiations in Muscat, held under the auspices of the United Nations, reached agreements on several points, most notably resolving the issue concerning Mohammed Qahtan and exchanging some prisoner lists.”

He noted that due to limited time, it was agreed to resume negotiations in two months, with both parties focusing on finalizing and approving the lists during this period in preparation for the next round.

Al-Murtadha expressed his gratitude to Oman for hosting this round and thanked everyone who facilitated its convening.

The negotiations for a prisoner exchange deal in Yemen are facing significant hurdles. Despite efforts from the National Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs to move forward with the exchange deal, disruptions, particularly by US-Saudi mercenaries, have impeded progress. The recent disruption of planned prison visits in Marib further complicated the situation.

The President of the National Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs stressed the importance of resolving this humanitarian issue and expressed Sana’a’s readiness to negotiate a comprehensive release of all prisoners, despite ongoing obstructions from Saudi-backed parties.