The Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Ali Al-Hamdan has denied the release of the Saudi deputy consul, Abdullah Al-Khalidi, who has been kidnapped since last March.
In remarks to the Saudi Okaz newspaper, Al-Hamdan affirmed that the Saudi Embassy and its consulate in Aden did not receive al-Khalidi and there were no contacts to free him by captors.
While Sheikh Tariq Al-Fadhli, a mediator, said there was no any agreement to release Al-Khalidi, Sheikh Awsan Al-Jaadabi said that the captors have agreed in principle to extradite him.
Well-informed sources said that Al-Khalidi and the Swiss teacher Sylvia Abrahat are held in Wadi Dhaikah and the captors daily transfer them from a place to another.
A tribal source had revealed that a prominent tribal leader Saleh Al-Awlaki and other tribal leaders have conducted negotiations with al-Qaeda for weeks to release the Saudi diplomat, pointing out that the mediation faced many difficulties and obstructions.The source added that Ansar Al-Shariah accepted a ransom of $10 million that will be paid for the group by Yemen.The Saudi authorities released on Monday al-Qaeda-linked female prisoners of Al-Qaeda, and reopened its embassy in Sana'a after four months of closure.
Al-Khalidi was kidnapped in the port city of Aden on March 28 and two video messages of al-Khalidi were posted by Al-Qaeda in which he appealed to the Saudi authorities to meet the demands of captors through releasing al-Qaeada prisoners and pay a ransom.
The women, who were held by Saudi security services, are relatives of al Qaeda fighters, Al-Khalidi said.