Yemen/Anadolu

The Houthi group handed over an incomplete corpse said to be of politician Mohammed Qahtan, a prominent leader of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform party, according to local media.

Deputy Minister of Information Mohammed Qizan: Qahtan was liquidated by the group, which necessitates an independent international investigation.

No official statement has been issued by the group regarding the matter.

A Yemeni official on Thursday accused the Houthi group of liquidating prominent politician Mohammed Qahtan, after the group handed over a corpse said to be his, following more than 10 years of his detention and enforced disappearance.

Yemeni Deputy Minister of Information Mohammed Qizan said on his account on the American company X platform that Qahtan, a leader of the Yemeni Congregation for Reform party, 'was subjected to physical liquidation by the Houthi militias after ten years of his kidnapping and enforced disappearance.'

He added that the Houthis are promoting a narrative claiming Qahtan died from shelling, considering that narrative 'unacceptable.'

Qizan held the group's leader responsible for Qahtan's fate, saying: 'Full responsibility lies with Abdul Malik al-Houthi personally as the leader of the group that was holding him all these years, and he is responsible for his safety under international law.'

He continued: 'This crime requires an independent and transparent international investigation to reveal the full truth and hold all those responsible accountable, to do justice to the victim and his family, and to end the policy of impunity.'

In the same context, Yemeni media reported that the Houthi group handed over an incomplete corpse to a joint committee, said to belong to Qahtan.

The independent website Al-Masdar Online reported that the four-party committee tasked with verifying Qahtan's fate received on Thursday samples from the corpse provided by the Houthis to conduct necessary tests and confirm its identity.

The committee includes representatives from Qahtan's family, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Yemeni government, and the Houthi group, and was formed under understandings related to the prisoner exchange file.

The site quoted an unnamed source in the committee as saying that all parties took multiple samples from the corpse for testing, with the International Committee of the Red Cross to conduct the tests in a country outside Yemen.

Later on Thursday, the spokesman for the Yemeni Congregation for Reform, Adnan al-Adini, said that 'the work of the inspection committee ended without finding Mr. Mohammed Qahtan.'

Al-Adini added in a post on the American company X platform, republished by the party's website (Islah Net), that 'thus, the essence of the case has not changed, and the political and legal question remains: Where is Mohammed Qahtan?'

He stressed that 'no other discussion can proceed before obtaining a clear and documented answer about his fate.'

Al-Adini considered that 'responsibility still lies with the Houthi group as the party that kidnapped him, and it is required to reveal his whereabouts or release him, and any talk that does not directly answer this question is insufficient.'

He concluded: 'Until that happens, the file of Mr. Mohammed Qahtan will remain open, and the unavoidable question will remain: Where is Mohammed Qahtan?'

The Houthi group has not issued an immediate comment on the matter.

On May 14, 2026, the Yemeni government and the Houthi group signed an agreement to exchange about 1,700 detainees from both sides, after consultations lasting several months in the Jordanian capital Amman.

The agreement stipulated the formation of a committee to verify Qahtan's fate in preparation for implementing the exchange deal, which is one of the largest prisoner exchange operations in Yemen.

The Houthis arrested Qahtan from his home in the capital Sanaa on April 5, 2015, days after placing him under house arrest, while his family repeatedly confirmed that they have not received any information about his place of detention or been able to communicate with him since.

Qahtan is considered one of the most prominent Yemeni politicians, and represented the Yemeni Congregation for Reform party in the UN-sponsored dialogues between Yemeni political forces and the Houthis, and has previously called on the UN Security Council to release him.