UN seeks investigation into employee’s death in Houthi custody in Yemen

The United Nations called on Oct 31 for an investigation into the death of Mohammad el Shami, a Yemeni employee of its Human Rights Office held by the Houthis in Yemen since June 2024. His family said he had died more than a month before relatives were informed, without an explanation of what happened.¹³⁴

Family awaits answers

Volker Turk, the UN’s human rights chief, called for the facts surrounding the death to be revealed and for a separate inquiry to begin swiftly. El Shami had spent more than two years in detention described by the UN as arbitrary. Neither the cause of death nor the circumstances surrounding it had been explained to his family.¹³⁵

The accounts establish June 2024 as the month of his detention, but the precise day remains disputed. His family’s account places his death more than a month before they received the news; the reports do not establish an exact date of death. Al Jazeera reported that the Houthis had not said how he died.¹²³⁴

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also backed calls for an investigation, according to Al Jazeera, which reported that the organisation was pressing the Houthis for answers. Turk said wrongdoing must carry consequences, stating: “There must be accountability for wrongdoing”.²³

Concern for those still held

El Shami was the second UN employee to die in Houthi detention, according to Al Jazeera and Arab News. According to Arab News, a Yemeni employee of the World Food Programme was taken into custody in January 2025 and died in a northern Yemen prison one month later. The UN subsequently suspended activities in Saada, the outlet said.²³

Seven other employees of the UN Human Rights Office remained detained, the reports said. Turk expressed concern about the safety of personnel still held and called for their release without conditions. The Straits Times reported that UN spokesman Farhan Haq had put the number of detained UN personnel at 71 on Oct 14.¹²³

The Houthis have accused detained staff of spying for the United States and Israel, allegations the UN rejected, according to Arab News. The Straits Times reported that the group also alleged humanitarian organisations were concealing intelligence work behind their activities, but had supplied no evidence for those accusations.¹³

Government demands accountability

Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani condemned the death and sought an international investigation to establish responsibility, The Straits Times reported. Mashdal Omar, human rights minister in Yemen’s internationally recognised government, held the Houthis responsible for el Shami’s detention, disappearance and death, according to Arab News.¹³

The detentions have also affected UN operations. Al Jazeera reported that the organisation paused work in parts of Houthi-controlled Yemen in February 2025 because of concerns for employees’ safety. Turk said holding UN colleagues was reducing the organisation’s ability to assist people facing a humanitarian and human rights crisis in Yemen.¹²