RIYADH (Debriefer)--Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi has ordered the government to provide healthcare to the prisoners freed by the Houthi group under a prisoner swap deal mediated by the UN and coordinated by the ICRC.
Some 221 government prisoners were released on Thursday, including 15 Saudi and 4 Sudanese soldiers who fought alongside the government forces and five journalists. They arrived in the city of Seiyun in Hadramout province.
From its side, the government released 470 Houthi prisoners.
The deal was reached last month at the end of UN-sponsored talks in Switzerland. Under it, the two sides will exchange 1.081 war prisoners and detainees, 681 Houthi and 400 government prisoners.
Separately, the government has called on the UN and the ICRC to investigate the conditions of the prisoners and detainees released on Thursday as many of them are suffering from mental and physical illnesses because of torture they had received in Houthi jails.
In addition, information minister, Muammar Al-Eryani, called for a transparent investigation into the killing of prisoners inside Houthi jails after reaching the prisoner swap deal last month. Some prisoners died under torture and body parts of others were removed, including Muhammad Al-Sabari and Azam Sayfan, Al-Eryani wrote on Twitter.
There are still four journalists who officials said the Houthis are still refusing to release. The nine journalists have been detained for five years, during which they have been subjected to all types of torture. In April, a Houthi court sentenced the other four to death for alleged treason and espionage.
Al-Eryani said the government is exerting major efforts to get them released, holding the Houthis responsible for their safety.
