INSAF:
With great hope and joy, INSAF Center for Defending Freedoms & Minorities welcomes the success of the prisoner exchange agreement in Yemen, which initiated its implementation on Friday, April 14, 2023, with the release of 318 detainees, within the first phase of the exchange agreement that was reached on March 20, 2023, under the auspices of the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, with our sincere wishes that the last two phases of the prisoner exchange succeed as well.
This step is a sign of hope that gives impetus towards the path of peace and entering into a comprehensive solution to end the war in Yemen, and to start completing the agreement regarding the details of the remaining prisoners and abductees held by the different parties in all Yemeni prisons, and the need to reveal the fate of the forcibly disappeared.
INSAF Center calls upon all involved parties to continue work on this issue, to renew commitments, and to support all efforts aimed at releasing prisoners and the forcibly disappeared, and restoring life to their families, especially those who do not belong to any political party or those detained due to religious beliefs, such as the case of Libby Salem Marhabi, who has entered his eighth year in Houthi prisons due to being Jewish.
We would like to commend the role of the UN envoy and his office, who played a prominent role in the success of this prisoner exchange agreement, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross for making the necessary arrangements for its implementation, and we call on the Yemeni parties collectively to release the rest of the prisoners and detainees.
INSAF Center would also like to extend its sincere congratulations to all the families and mothers of the prisoners and abductees, on the return of their loved ones, and the end of years of deep sadness which came from not knowing the fate of their sons. We would also like to renew our full solidarity with all the detainees and prisoners who are still behind bars and renew our stand with the families who are still searching for the fate of their sons and their release, hoping that the new rounds of negotiations will lead to greater success in resolving the prisoners’ file, after years of obstruction and failure. The fact that this issue was finally moved is a great sign of hope for calmness and hopefully a comprehensive peace.
