RIYADH – A Saudi prisoner of war (POW), Private First Class Mousa Bin Shou’i Awaji, arrived at King Salman Airbase in Riyadh at 21:45 Tuesday after being released by Houthi militia on humanitarian grounds due to his poor health condition, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted Col. Turki Al-Maliki, official spokesman of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, as stating Tuesday.

Col. Al-Maliki attributed the release to the joint efforts of the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition and UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths.

Al-Maliki added: “As a result of the joint efforts by the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition and SESGY Martin Griffiths, which ensued in the release of the Saudi POW detained by the Houthi militia, suffering from deteriorating health conditions and not receiving proper medical care by the Houthi militia, the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition has agreed to release seven Houthi detainees in exchange for the Saudi POW detained by the Houthi militia. This reflects the resolve of the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to retrieve the Saudi POW, in accordance with the Third Geneva Convention, related to POWs, and humanitarian values and principles. The efforts to retrieve all POWs of the Coalition forces are ongoing,” Al-Maliki asserted.

Col. Al-Maliki said that the detainee and POW negotiations do not receive due consideration by Houthi militia, and their intransigence has stood in the way of negotiations. This is due to their attempts to acquire political or military gains with blatant disregard for the humanitarian aspect.

“The Houthi militia are still imprisoning thousands of Yemeni people, including leading political, social and military figures. Foremost among them is Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, former Yemeni minister of defense, whose immediate and unconditional release was included in UNSCR 2216 (2015),” Al-Maliki stressed.

The Official Spokesman concluded his statement by extending the Joint Forces Command’s thanks to SESGY Martin Griffiths and the ICRC for positively responding to its keenness to retrieve the POW, considering his health condition that requires medical care, which was not provided by the Houthi militia. – SPA