The United Nations has called for an independent investigation into the death of Mohammad el-Shami, an employee of its human rights office who was being held by the Houthis in Yemen. His death has also prompted renewed demands for the release of colleagues who remain in detention.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the UN said el-Shami had died more than a month earlier, although his family had only recently been notified. The Houthi authorities provided no explanation of how he died. El-Shami worked for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, known as OHCHR, in Yemen.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said el-Shami’s family “deserve to know the truth”. He called on the Houthi authorities to provide complete transparency and sought a prompt, independent and thorough inquiry into the death. His demands focused on establishing what happened to the employee while he was in their custody.
El-Shami had been arbitrarily detained since June 2024. He was taken into custody along with more than 60 people employed by the UN and other nongovernmental organisations. The detainees were accused of belonging to an American-Israeli espionage network. The rebel group has previously displayed some detainees on television, portraying them as collaborators with Western intelligence services and Israel.
Turk also expressed grave concern about seven other OHCHR employees detained alongside el-Shami who are still being held. He renewed his appeal for their immediate release without conditions, raising their continued detention alongside his demand for answers about their colleague’s death.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a separate statement on Saturday, saying he was “appalled” by el-Shami’s death. He backed Turk’s call for an investigation and said the organisation was urgently pressing the Houthis for information about the circumstances in which the staff member died.
El-Shami is the second UN employee to die in Houthi detention. A World Food Programme staff member died in custody in February 2025. The Houthis have detained a total of 72 UN employees and nongovernmental organisation workers, including el-Shami.
Concerns about employee safety led the UN to suspend operations in some Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in February 2025. More recently, on October 6, the organisation announced the release of a World Food Programme employee who had been arbitrarily detained by the Iran-backed group.
