UN staffer’s death in custody exposes Houthi ‘political extortion’ in Yemen

The United Nations and human rights experts demand an independent investigation after an arbitrarily detained staff member died in Houthi custody in Yemen.

Mohammad el-Shami who died in Houthi custody [Handout/Yemen Ministry of Human Rights via Al Jazeera]

The United Nations is demanding a thorough investigation into the death of a human rights employee while in Houthi detention in Yemen.

Mohammad el-Shami , who worked for the UN Human Rights Office, died more than a month ago but his family was only recently notified. He had been arbitrarily detained by the rebel group, which controls much of northern Yemen, since June 2024.

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His death has highlighted the number of UN and NGO workers targeted by the Houthis, since they captured the capital Sanaa in September 2014.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has urged the Houthi authorities in Sanaa to ensure a prompt, transparent and independent investigation into el-Shami’s death.

“This is a heartbreaking loss for the UN Human Rights Office and the wider United Nations. Mohammad’s family has not received any explanation of the cause or circumstances of his death – they deserve to know the truth,” said Turk.

“This requires disclosure of all relevant medical and detention records, preservation of evidence and independent scrutiny of any stated cause of death. There must be accountability for wrongdoing.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed his dismay and demanded the immediate release of all detained personnel.

“I am appalled & deeply saddened by the death of a @UN colleague, Mohammad el Shami, while in the custody of the Houthi de facto authorities in Yemen,” Guterres stated.

“I remain gravely concerned for the safety & wellbeing of the UN personnel, former UN staff & personnel from humanitarian & civil society organisations who remain detained. I reiterate my call for their immediate & unconditional release.”

The Houthis have repeatedly accused detained workers of being spies.

The Houthis accused more than 60 UN and NGO workers detained in 2024, when 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.

As of February this year, 73 UN staff and dozens of other humanitarian workers were in detention, according to Amnesty International . El-Shami is the second UN staff member to die in Houthi custody, following the death of a World Food Programme employee in February 2025.

The Minister of Human Rights for Yemen’s internationally recognised government, Meshdal Mohammed, held the militia fully responsible for el-Shami’s abduction, forced disappearance and death.

“The continued abduction of [civil rights workers] for more than two years, culminating in the announcement of the death of one of them without enabling his family to visit him or know his condition, dictates a serious review of the way this file is handled,” he said.

Local human rights advocates highlight the severe difficulty of achieving accountability for deaths and other civil rights abuses by the Houthis.

Tawfik Alhamidi, President of SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties, outlined the systematic obstacles faced by NGO workers operating in Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen.

“The group is the one that controls prisons, medical records and witnesses, in addition to the fact that there is no judicial or human rights oversight over places of detention,” he told Al Jazeera.

“This delay by this group and the withholding of information may reflect a systematic pattern or behaviour by this group, at least in order perhaps to hide some features or make it difficult to conduct an examination.”

He said that the deaths of many Yemenis in Houthi custody have been put down to disease, sudden death or suicide.

The Houthi authorities remain fully accountable for any deaths in custody, regardless of the exact cause, Alhamidi added.

“Even if illness is proven, the question remains: Did the detainee also receive medical care, or is there negligence or is there deprivation?”

一名联合国工作人员在也门胡塞武装的任意拘留下死亡后，联合国和人权专家要求进行独立调查。

在胡塞武装拘留期间死亡的穆罕默德·沙米 [图片由也门人权部通过半岛电视台提供]

联合国要求对一名人权工作者在也门胡塞武装拘留期间死亡的事件进行彻底调查。

曾任联合国人权事务高级专员办事处工作人员的穆罕默德·沙米已于一个多月前去世，但他的家人最近才接到通知。自2024年6月以来，他一直被控制也门北部大部分地区的叛军组织任意拘留。

联合国称，也门新战乱导致29万人流离失所，孕妇面临风险（列表1/3）

联合国要求对一名工作人员在也门胡塞武装拘留期间死亡事件展开调查（共3项，此为第2项）

也门政府军在焦夫地区夺取战略要地（共3个，此为第3个）

他的死凸显了自 2014 年 9 月胡塞武装占领首都萨那以来，联合国和非政府组织工作人员成为胡塞武装袭击目标的人数之多。

联合国人权事务高级专员沃尔克·图尔克敦促萨那的胡塞武装当局确保对沙米之死进行迅速、透明和独立的调查。

“这对联合国人权事务高级专员办事处和整个联合国来说都是一个令人心碎的损失。穆罕默德的家人至今没有收到任何关于他死因或死因的解释——他们理应知道真相，”图尔克说。

“这就要求公开所有相关的医疗和拘留记录，保存证据，并对任何已公布的死因进行独立审查。必须追究不当行为的责任。”

联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯也表达了他的失望之情，并要求立即释放所有被拘留人员。

古特雷斯表示：“我的联合国同事穆罕默德·沙米在也门胡塞武装实际控制下死亡，我对此感到震惊和深感悲痛。”

“我仍然对仍被拘留的联合国工作人员、前联合国工作人员以及人道主义和民间社会组织人员的安全和福祉深表关切。我再次呼吁立即无条件释放他们。”

胡塞武装多次指控被拘留的工人是间谍。

胡塞武装指控 2024 年沙米被捕时被拘留的 60 多名联合国和非政府组织工作人员是“美国-以色列间谍网络”的一部分。

该组织经常以间谍罪名逮捕民权活动人士、非政府组织工作人员和其他平民。

据国际特赦组织称，截至今年2月，已有73名联合国工作人员和数十名其他人道主义工作者被拘留。埃尔-沙米是继2025年2月一名世界粮食计划署雇员死亡后，第二位在胡塞武装拘留期间死亡的联合国工作人员。

也门国际公认政府人权部长梅什达尔·穆罕默德认为，民兵应对沙米的绑架、强迫失踪和死亡负全部责任。

他说：“[民权工作者]持续被绑架两年多，最终在其中一名受害者去世时，警方却没有让他的家人探望他或了解他的状况，这要求我们认真审查此案的处理方式。”

当地人权倡导者强调，追究胡塞武装造成人员死亡和其他侵犯公民权利行为的责任极其困难。

SAM 人权与自由组织主席 Tawfik Alhamidi 概述了在也门胡塞武装控制区开展工作的非政府组织工作人员面临的系统性障碍。

“该组织控制着监狱、医疗记录和证人，此外，拘留场所也没有任何司法或人权监督，”他告诉半岛电视台。

“该组织拖延时间并隐瞒信息，可能反映出该组织存在某种系统性的模式或行为，至少可能是为了掩盖某些特征或使调查难以进行。”

他说，许多在胡塞武装拘留期间死亡的也门人被归咎于疾病、猝死或自杀。

阿尔哈米迪补充说，无论确切死因如何，胡塞武装当局仍需对任何在押人员死亡事件负全部责任。

“即使疾病得到证实，问题仍然存在：被拘留者是否也得到了医疗护理，或者是否存在疏忽或剥夺？”