Yemeni minister says Houthis tortured UN staffer to death, UN rights chief demands probe

Death in detention

A Yemeni national who worked in the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has died after two years in Houthi custody, according to official sources. He was arrested in June 2024. Since then he was not allowed visits or contact with his family, a relative told the German news agency dpa. The family has been informed of his death and is due to receive the body. The circumstances of the death remain unclear.

Torture allegation

A minister of the Yemeni government told the Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya that the man was tortured to death in a Houthi prison. The allegation comes from the minister as reported by Al Arabiya, and the sources do not establish how he died. According to the Dutch reporting, the family has received no explanation of the cause or circumstances of his death. UN human rights chief Volker Türk called the death absolutely devastating, expressed sympathy to the family, and demanded an independent investigation into the circumstances. Türk also said he was deeply worried about the fate of other UN staff in rebel hands.

Remaining detainees

Türk said seven of the UN staff members still held by the rebels worked for his office. A Yemeni government official cited in the reports said more than 70 UN employees remain in Houthi hands. The Houthis usually justify such detentions by saying the people were spying for the United States or Israel. The reports do not say whether any of those held have been charged or when they might be released.

Renewed fighting

The Yemeni civil war began in 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of the north of the country. A year later Saudi Arabia and its allies began airstrikes on rebel positions. In the sources, the conflict has escalated again since the summer amid the Iran war. In September the Houthis took further areas of the west coast in an offensive, and they have repeatedly attacked Saudi Arabia with drones and missiles. The World Health Organization says at least 1,500 people have been killed in the renewed violence since August.