The United Nations has demanded a thorough investigation into the death of Mohammad el-Shami, a staff member of the UN Human Rights Office who died while in Houthi detention in Yemen. He died more than a month ago, but his family was only recently informed.
El-Shami had been arbitrarily detained by the rebel group, which controls much of northern Yemen, since June 2024. His death has drawn fresh attention to the number of UN and NGO workers targeted by the Houthis since they seized the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014.
Calls for a transparent investigation into the death
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged the Houthi authorities in Sanaa to ensure a prompt, transparent and independent investigation. He said the family had received no explanation of the cause or circumstances of the death.
“This is a heartbreaking loss for the UN Human Rights Office and the wider United Nations,” Turk said. “They deserve to know the truth.”
Turk said any investigation would require the disclosure of all relevant medical and detention records, the preservation of evidence and independent scrutiny of any stated cause of death. He added that there must be accountability for wrongdoing.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed dismay at the death. He described himself as appalled and deeply saddened, and he demanded the immediate release of all detained personnel.
Concerns over the fate of detained aid workers
Guterres said he remained gravely concerned for the safety and wellbeing of UN personnel, former UN staff and workers from humanitarian and civil society organisations who are still held. He repeated his call for their immediate and unconditional release.
The Houthis have repeatedly accused detained workers of being spies. According to the report, they accused more than 60 UN and NGO workers detained in 2024, the year el-Shami was arrested, of being part of an “American-Israeli spy network”. The group has routinely arrested civil rights activists, NGO workers and other civilians on espionage allegations.
Amnesty International said that as of February this year, 73 UN staff and dozens of other humanitarian workers were in detention. El-Shami is the second UN staff member to die in Houthi custody, after a World Food Programme employee died in February 2025.
Yemeni officials and rights advocates press for accountability
Meshdal Mohammed, Minister of Human Rights for Yemen’s internationally recognised government, held the militia fully responsible for el-Shami’s abduction, forced disappearance and death. He said the prolonged detention of civil rights workers, which ended with the announcement of one death without allowing his family to visit or learn his condition, required a serious review of how the case had been handled.
Local human rights advocates have stressed how difficult it is to secure accountability for deaths and other abuses attributed to the Houthis. Tawfik Alhamidi, President of SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties, described the obstacles faced by NGO workers operating in Houthi-controlled territory.
Alhamidi said the group controls prisons, medical records and witnesses, and that there is no judicial or human rights oversight of places of detention. He said the delay and withholding of information may reflect a systematic pattern, possibly aimed at hiding certain facts or making an examination difficult.
He added that many deaths of Yemenis in Houthi custody have been attributed to disease, sudden death or suicide. Alhamidi said the Houthi authorities remain fully accountable for any deaths in custody, regardless of the exact cause. “Even if illness is proven, the question remains: Did the detainee also receive medical care, or is there negligence or is there deprivation?” he said.
