Yemen Monitor/New York/Exclusive:
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres sent a message of solidarity last week to UN staff detained in Houthi group prisons in Yemen, according to his spokeman, Stéphane Dujarric, on Friday.
This came in a press conference held by Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, at the headquarters of the international organization in New York, which Yemen Monitor followed.
Guterres said, “We remain deeply concerned about the safety and security of Yemeni UN staff, as well as national and international NGO staff, diplomatic missions, civil society, and partners who are arbitrarily detained by the Houthi de facto authorities.”
He added, “It has now been more than a month since most of them were arbitrarily detained, although four UN staff members have been detained since 2021.”
For weeks, the Houthis have been carrying out an escalating campaign of arrests in areas under their control, targeting civil society workers and former government officials on charges of espionage and links to an intelligence cell announced last month.
The spokesman indicated in his press conference that “senior UN officials continue to work through all available channels to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily detained.”
The letter urged “the de facto authorities in Sana’a to release the detainees immediately and unconditionally.”
The UN called for “them to be treated with full respect for their human rights, and to be able to communicate with their families and legal representatives.”
He reiterated that “UN staff, national and international NGO staff, diplomatic missions, civil society, and other partner staff should never be targeted, arrested, or detained while carrying out their mandates on behalf of the people they serve.”
