UNITED NATIONS, November 1 (Aalimi Nation) – The United Nations has demanded an urgent and independent investigation into the death of a human rights office staff member who had been held by Yemen's Houthi authorities since June 2024, saying his family was told of the death only recently and has received no explanation.
The staff member, Mohammad el-Shami, worked for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Yemen. The UN said he had been arbitrarily detained by the Houthis since June 6, 2024. His family told the UN that he died more than a month ago, and it was not told the cause or the circumstances.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "appalled" by the death. In a statement posted by the UN spokesperson on October 31, his office said Guterres condemned it and called for an "immediate, impartial, transparent and thorough investigation". The spokesperson also said the circumstances of what he described as an appalling tragedy remained unclear, and that the UN was urgently seeking answers about what happened.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called the death "utterly devastating". He demanded "full transparency" from the Houthi authorities and an "urgent, independent and thorough investigation". Turk said the family "deserve to know the truth". Turk said he was gravely concerned for seven other staff of his office who were detained alongside el-Shami and remain in custody. He appealed for their immediate and unconditional release.
According to the UN's account, el-Shami was among more than 60 people working with the United Nations and non-governmental organisations who were detained in June 2024. The Houthis accused those held of being part of an "American-Israeli spy network". The Houthis have previously presented detainees on television as collaborators with Western intelligence agencies and Israel.
The Houthis have since detained further UN personnel, and the UN has said that 72 UN staff members and aid workers are now in their custody, including el-Shami. His death is the second known death of a UN staff member in Houthi detention. A World Food Programme employee died in custody in February 2025. The UN paused operations in parts of Houthi-held Yemen that month because of concerns over staff safety.
On October 6, the UN announced that a World Food Programme employee who had been arbitrarily detained by the Iran-backed group had been released. The UN has described such detentions as arbitrary.
The UN has not said how el-Shami died. A Yemeni government minister has said he was tortured to death in a Houthi prison. That is a claim by one side in Yemen's conflict, and it has not been confirmed by the UN or independently verified. No statement from the Houthi authorities responding to the UN's demand for an investigation had been found at the time of writing.
