The United Nations demanded on Friday that the Houthis return the body of Mohammed El-Shami. El-Shami was a Yemeni employee of the UN human rights office who died while detained by the militia group.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric urged the Houthis to hand the body over to the family without delay. He stated that this handover would enable a dignified burial and said nothing could justify withholding the remains.
What reason could there be, Dujarric asked reporters when questioned about the refusal to release the body. He noted there was no reason to continue detaining seventy UN colleagues and no reason to hang on to the remains of a deceased person.
The international organization repeated prior calls for a prompt, independent, impartial, and effective investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death. Officials also reiterated demands for the immediate release of all UN staff and affiliated personnel still held by the group.
El-Shami had been detained by Houthi authorities since June 6, 2024. When the UN announced his death on October 31, officials stated he had died more than a month earlier, but his family had only recently been informed.
He was the second member of UN staff to die in Houthi detention. A colleague from the World Food Programme died in February 2025. The Houthis accuse detained UN personnel of spying, an allegation the UN rejects.
The UN has not been able to establish the precise date or cause of death. A report by news channel Al Arabiya cited a Yemeni government minister claiming the UN employee was tortured to death inside a Houthi prison.
The civil war between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government continues to displace civilians across western and northwestern Yemen. Dujarric reported that more than 313,000 people have been displaced since renewed fighting intensified at the start of August.
Civilians are sadly continuing to pay the price, Dujarric said. He called on all conflict parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, respect international humanitarian law, and allow safe, sustained, and unimpeded humanitarian access.
The latest wave of displacement follows a Houthi offensive that began in early August after a fragile truce from 2022 broke down. The group launched missile, drone, and ground attacks against government forces in governorates including Marib, Taiz, Hodeidah, and Al-Dhale.
Local authorities in Taiz warned that a Houthi blockade has caused severe shortages of fuel and medicine. These shortages threaten premature babies and other newborns in the besieged provincial capital.
