<\/p>\n
The Huthi de facto authorities in Yemen have sent at least eight people involved in human rights and humanitarian work for criminal prosecution, for espionage related charges punishable by death, since 18 August 2026, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. They include two United Nations employees, a UN consultant, and five people who worked with international and local civil society organizations on a range of issues, including health, human rights and humanitarian aid.<\/p>\n
The Huthis should immediately halt these prosecutions and immediately and unconditionally release all eight people whose caes were sent for prosecution along with scores of\u00a0other UN staff and\u00a0civil society workers the Huthis have arbitrarily detained\u00a0over the past two years.<\/p>\n
The prosecution is the latest escalation in a crackdown by Huthi authorities on civil society in the part of Yemen they control, with successive waves of arrests of Yemenis targeting UN staff and civil society members since 31 May 2024. \u00a0The Huthis have arbitrarily detained over 100 such staff and workers, holding them without charge and denying them access to lawyers and their families.<\/p>\n
Many of the detentions started as forcible disappearances<\/a>. An enforced disappearance happens when a person is deprived of liberty and their detention is denied or their situation or whereabouts concealed, placing them outside the protection of the law.<\/p>\n \u201cAs fighting once again escalates in Yemen, the Huthis have maliciously moved to prosecute at least eight UN and civil society workers on charges that could, if convicted, result in the death penalty,\u201d said Diala Haidar, Yemen researcher at Amnesty International.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cDemanding the immediate release of Yemen\u2019s UN and civil society workers should be a top priority for governments, and not an afterthought.\u201d<\/p>\n Demanding the immediate release of Yemen\u2019s UN and civil society workers should be a top priority for governments, and not an afterthought.<\/p>\n Diala Haidar, Yemen researcher at Amnesty International<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International spoke to seven people with direct knowledge of the cases, including family members of those detained.<\/p>\n All eight transferred for prosecution remain in detention and have deteriorating health conditions, including at least two who have diabetes and have not been able to get adequate medical care, and one who is at risk of glaucoma. One has stomach cancer and has been undergoing chemotherapy while in detention.<\/p>\n Some family members said the detainees told them they had been forced to confess to espionage charges under torture or threats of torture.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since 2015,\u00a0 Amnesty International has\u202fdocumented<\/a>\u202fscores of cases in which\u00a0Huthi\u00a0authorities\u00a0used\u00a0spying charges to target political opponents and silence peaceful dissent. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented<\/a> the Huthis\u2019 use of torture to obtain confessions.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt is outrageous that detainees are facing the risk of the death penalty simply for providing medical and food assistance or promoting human rights, peace, and dialogue,\u201d said Niku Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is critical for other governments to step up diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the dozens of arbitrarily detained members of Yemen\u2019s civil society and UN staff, especially considering the attacks prisons have faced in the conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n Imposing the death penalty after unfair proceedings\u00a0makes its use as a punishment arbitrary and in violation of international legal standards, the organizations said.\u00a0Further, under international human rights law, only the \u201cmost serious crimes\u201d can legitimately attract the death penalty, which has been\u00a0interpreted as limited to intentional killing.\u00a0None of those facing prosecution have been accused of such actions. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch oppose the death penalty unconditionally, in any cases and under any circumstance.<\/p>\n The eight people transferred to the Specialized Criminal Prosecution in Sana\u2019a, Yemen\u2019s capital, are\u00a0facing charges\u00a0of \u201cespionage\u201d and \u201caiding the enemy\u201d (articles 127 and 128 of Yemen\u2019s Penal Code), both punishable by death.\u00a0The Specialized Criminal Prosecution\u00a0has also\u00a0made vague and overly broad accusations about the detainees\u2019 humanitarian and human rights work, alleging that they had \u201chidden and malicious goals\u201d as part of a premeditated plan to \u201cdestroy the values of society.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sana\u2019a-based Specialized Criminal Court, established in 1999, has jurisdiction over a variety of security-related crimes and offences deemed detrimental to state security and public interests. As the Huthis consolidated their control over territories, they also consolidated their control over the judiciary, and the Court has been used as a tool for political repression<\/a>.<\/p>\n All eight detainees have been denied adequate access to their lawyers.<\/p>\n Sami Kallabi, 41, who worked for the UN at the time of his arrest on June 6, 2024, has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy at a military hospital. Despite his critical health situation, he has been denied family visits and the Huthi authorities are refusing to disclose where he is being held.<\/p>\n Labib Shayef, 57, is a consultant detained from his office in Sana\u2019a, also on June 6, 2024. Since then he has only been allowed a single visit from his family, in August 2025. His health has severely deteriorated in detention. He has diabetes and contracted Hepatitis B in custody but has not been provided with adequate access to health care.<\/p>\n Prosecutors have questioned him about his work with local and international organizations, including on gender- and peace- related programmes.<\/p>\n At the time of his arrest, Dr. Ali Al-Mudhwahi, was a United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) consultant and an advisor to the Huthi\u2019s Ministry of Public Health and Population, his wife, Safiah Mohammed, told Human Rights Watch. The authorities have subjected him to \u201csolitary confinement, torture, and severe psychological pressure\u201d throughout his detention, his wife said he told her over the phone.<\/p>\n \u00a0The Huthis\u2014who oppose vaccinations\u2014have tried to force him to say that vaccines are \u201cnothing but espionage tools\u201d and that he is \u201ca spy recruited by the World Health Organization,\u201d his wife said.<\/p>\n Background<\/strong><\/p>\n Starting on\u00a031 May 2024, the\u00a0Huthis\u00a0carried out a series of raids in areas under their control,\u202farbitrarilydetaining<\/a>\u202f13 UN staff and at least 50 staff from Yemeni and international\u202fcivil society\u202forganizations. Since that time,\u00a0the\u00a0Huthis\u00a0have\u00a0arbitrarily detained dozens more UN staff and civil society workers. As of\u00a0February2026<\/a>,\u00a0 at least 73 UN staff\u00a0and dozens of humanitarian\u00a0and civil society workers remained in Huthi detention, all\u00a0of them\u00a0Yemeni nationals.<\/p>\n On\u00a0\u00a011 February 2025,\u00a0an aid worker from the World Food Programme died<\/a>\u202fin\u00a0Huthi\u00a0custody. His death heightens fears for the safety and wellbeing of others arbitrarily detained in\u00a0Huthi-run detention\u00a0centres, given the\u00a0Huthis\u2019\u00a0track record\u00a0of\u202ftorture and other ill-treatment<\/a>\u202fof detainees.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n