UN demands investigation after staffer’s death in Houthi custody in Yemen
Mohammad el-Shami had been held since June 2024, when he and many other UN and NGO workers were accused of being spies.
The United Nations has demanded an investigation into the death of an employee in Houthi detention in Yemen.
Mohammad el-Shami, a staff member of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Yemen, died more than a month ago, but his family was only recently informed, the UN said in a statement on Saturday.
The Houthis did not say how he died, but his family “deserve to know the truth”, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a separate statement on Saturday that he was “appalled” by el-Shami’s death and echoed Turk’s calls for an investigation.