The Yemeni government and Arab coalition delegation negotiating the detainee file announced a new agreement to release around 1,750 detainees from all parties, including 27 members of the Arab coalition, following months of talks held in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
In a statement, the delegation said the agreement represents the first phase of a broader “all-for-all” prisoner exchange deal covering all detainees, which was initially reached during negotiations that began in the Omani capital Muscat on December 11, 2025.
The statement said the government delegation engaged in a month-long round of negotiations in Muscat before moving to indirect talks in Riyadh aimed at establishing technical and procedural frameworks for exchanging detainee lists and strengthening understandings between the parties.
It added that Amman later hosted a 90-day round of direct consultations from February 5 to May 6, 2026, involving lengthy and complex negotiations marked by major obstacles and recurring challenges.
The delegation said the negotiations were conducted with a “high sense of national and humanitarian responsibility,” stressing that returning detainees to their families remained a priority above all other considerations.
It added that the talks culminated in the signing of detainee lists and implementation mechanisms, describing the agreement as a tangible breakthrough in one of Yemen’s most complicated humanitarian issues.
The statement also praised the efforts of the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen and the International Committee of the Red Cross for supporting and facilitating the humanitarian negotiations.
The delegation concluded by saying the agreement “does not represent a victory for one side over another, but rather a victory for the human being who has suffered for so long,” pledging to continue working toward full implementation of the deal until the last detainee is released and reunited with their family.
Regarding the fate of Mohammed Qahtan, a senior leader of Yemen’s Islah Party, the Yemeni government-run Saba News Agency said the agreement stipulates the formation of a joint committee from both parties, with the participation of his family, to travel to Sana’a and verify his fate and take the necessary measures, in the presence of the International Committee of the Red Cross as a neutral mediator, prior to the implementation of the detainee release process.