The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed late Thursday that its role within the quadripartite committee concerned with the case of Yemeni politician Muhammad Qahtan is limited to an observer capacity, denying its participation in any investigative procedures related to the case, following the latest developments regarding his fate.

The official spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Eskandar Saeed, said in a statement published by the media platform "Yemen Future" that their role in the quadripartite committee "is limited to an observer capacity."

He added that the ICRC "does not participate in any investigative procedures related to the case, as these procedures do not fall within its mandated humanitarian mission," stressing that any concerns or observations from the committee "are discussed with the concerned party bilaterally and confidentially."

The committee's statement comes after the circulation of information about the quadripartite committee completing an inspection of remains said to belong to the leader of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform party, Muhammad Qahtan, following their disclosure by the Houthi group.

The quadripartite committee consists of representatives from the Yemeni government, the Houthi group, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and a representative of his family, and was formed to follow up on his case and verify his fate.

In its first position following these developments, the family demanded the preparation of a detailed official report explaining the circumstances and date of his death, under the supervision of forensic medicine and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to ensure uncovering the truth and determining the circumstances surrounding his death.

Media sources reported that the quadripartite committee tasked with verifying the fate of prominent Yemeni politician Muhammad Qahtan took samples on Thursday from a corpse presented by the Houthi group in the capital Sanaa, claiming it belongs to the politician who has been forcibly disappeared in its prisons for more than 11 years, as part of medical examination and identity verification procedures.

It quoted sources in the committee as saying that the corpse that was handed over and examined at "Kuwait Hospital" in Sanaa was "incomplete," noting that the committee had finished examining the body, but still doubts the circumstances of the death and the true identity of the displayed corpse.

The sources revealed shocking details about the condition of the displayed body, as Zaid Qahtan (son of the disappeared politician) reported that the body presented to the family consisted only of the lower half of the body, while the upper part - including the head - was completely missing.

Circulating information stated that Qahtan was subjected to physical liquidation in Houthi prisons, and that claims of him being killed in airstrikes, as the group alleges, are false.

Qahtan, one of the most prominent political leaders of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform party, was abducted from his home in Sanaa by the Houthi group in April 2015, and his fate remained unknown throughout the past years, despite his case being included in negotiation rounds on the prisoners and detainees file, before recent developments brought the case back into the spotlight.

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