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11h ago

Guterres Demands Houthis Rescind Court Referrals and Free Detained UN Staff

Fifty-nine UN employees are in Houthi custody, with some brought before a special criminal court.

FILE - Workers use heavy machinery to clear rubble from buildings destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, on Sept. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman, File)
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks with Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni during the Reuters NEXT conference, in New York City, New York, U.S., December 3, 2025. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Relations between the Iran-backed Houthis and international organisations have deteriorated sharply in recent years. EPA
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Overview

  • UN officials say 59 UN personnel, all Yemeni nationals, remain detained by the Houthis along with dozens from NGOs, civil society and diplomatic missions.
  • UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said a number of detainees were referred to the Houthis’ special criminal court in Sanaa, with court procedures reported to be underway on Tuesday.
  • UN human rights chief Volker Türk reported that one OHCHR staff member detained since November 2021 was presented to the Houthi court on what he called fabricated espionage charges.
  • A Houthi-run court in late November convicted 17 people of spying for foreign governments and sentenced them to death by firing squad in public, according to AP and the Houthi SABA agency.
  • The UN asserts its personnel are legally immune for official acts and reports incommunicado detention and mistreatment, while engaging regional interlocutors to secure releases.