Yemen accuses Houthis of killing detained politician Mohammed Qahtan
SANAA – Yemen’s internationally-recognised government on Thursday accused the Houthi movement of killing prominent politician Mohammed Qahtan after the group handed over what it said were his remains more than 11 years after his enforced disappearance, prompting renewed calls for an independent international investigation.
The case centres on Qahtan, one of Yemen’s best-known opposition politicians and a senior figure in the Islah party, who disappeared after being detained by the Houthis at his home in the capital, Sanaa, in April 2015. His family has said they received no information about his whereabouts or condition throughout his detention.
Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Qizan rejected the Houthis’ account that Qahtan died in an air strike.
“The Houthis are promoting a narrative that Qahtan died as a result of bombing, but this cannot be accepted,” Qizan said in a statement posted on X.
He said Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi bore “full responsibility” for Qahtan’s fate because the politician had remained in the group’s custody throughout the period of his disappearance.
“The crime requires an independent and transparent international investigation to establish the full truth, hold all those responsible to account, deliver justice to the victim and his family, and end the policy of impunity,” he said.
Partial remains handed over
Yemeni media reported that a four-party committee established to determine Qahtan’s fate received a body from the Houthis that they said belonged to the veteran politician.
According to sources familiar with the committee’s work, the remains were incomplete, with only the lower half of the body presented. The upper body, including the head, was missing.
The Houthis reportedly told the committee that the missing parts had been destroyed in an air strike, an explanation that Qahtan’s family said only deepened doubts surrounding the circumstances of his death.
The family also alleged it came under pressure to sign the committee’s examination report.
The committee took multiple DNA samples from the remains to establish their identity.
The samples will be transferred by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to specialised laboratories outside Yemen for forensic testing.
The committee includes representatives from Qahtan’s family, the ICRC, Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Houthis.
Prisoner exchange process
The committee was created under an agreement reached as part of a wider prisoner exchange between the Yemeni government and the Houthis.
In May this year, the two sides agreed to exchange around 1,700 detainees following months of negotiations in Jordan.
As part of that agreement, they established the committee to determine Qahtan’s fate before implementing one of the largest prisoner exchanges since Yemen’s conflict began.
Qahtan was arrested by Houthi fighters on April 5, 2015, days after being placed under house arrest in Sanaa.
A leading figure in the Islah party, he represented the movement during United Nations-sponsored talks with the Houthis and became one of the highest-profile political detainees in Yemen’s war.
The UN Security Council repeatedly called for his release during the conflict.
Long-running mystery
Qahtan’s disappearance has long been one of the most sensitive unresolved cases in Yemen’s conflict and a symbol of allegations of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance.
The outcome of the DNA analysis is expected to determine whether the remains belong to Qahtan, while questions surrounding the circumstances of his death are likely to intensify pressure for an international investigation.
If confirmed, the case would close one of Yemen’s longest-running disappearance cases while opening a new chapter over accountability for one of the country’s most prominent political prisoners.