Rights groups call on Houthis to release detained aid workers
DUBAI: Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called on Houthis to release dozens of UN and aid workers who have been detained for nearly a year.
The arrest and detention of aid workers has 'a direct impact on the delivery of lifesaving assistance to people in critical need of aid' in a country enduring one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, the two rights groups said in a joint statement.
Since May 2024, the Houthis have carried out several waves of arrests in regions under their control, targeting UN staff as well as workers in local and international humanitarian organizations.
The arrests have prompted the UN to limit its deployments and suspend activities in some regions of the country devastated by more than a decade of civil war.
The arrests have prompted the UN to limit its deployments and suspend activities in some regions of Yemen.
The Houthis at the time claimed there was an 'American-Israeli spy cell' operating under the cover of aid groups — accusations firmly rejected by the UN.
Only seven aid workers have been released, while at least 50 remain in detention 'without adequate access to lawyers or their families, and without charge,' HRW and Amnesty said, calling on the rebels to 'immediately and unconditionally release' them.
'It is shocking that most of these UN and civil society staff have now spent almost a year in arbitrary detention for simply doing their work in providing medical and food assistance or promoting human rights, peace, and dialogue,' said Diala Haidar, Yemen researcher at Amnesty International.
'They should never have been arrested in the first place,' she continued.
Niku Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at HRW, meanwhile, said: 'The Houthis need to facilitate the work of humanitarian workers and the movement of aid.
'All countries with influence, as well as the UN and civil society organizations, should use all the tools at their disposal to urge the release of those arbitrarily detained and to provide support to their family members.'
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