Yemen’s Houthis say arrested UN staff will be tried over Israeli links

Dozens of Yemeni UN personnel could face death penalty, as UN says at least 59 of its staff are being held by the group.

Yemen’s Houthi-run government will put dozens of detained United Nations staff on trial, alleging that they have spied for Israel or had links to an Israeli air strike that killed the prime minister, according to officials.

Abdulwahid Abu Ras, Yemen’s acting foreign minister, told the Reuters news agency on Friday that a cell within the UN’s World Food Programme was involved in directly targeting the government.

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The Houthi prime minister and nine other ministers were killed in an Israeli strike on the capital Sanaa in August, the first such attack to kill senior officials.

The UN, which has repeatedly rejected Houthi accusations, said on Friday that a total of 36 UN employees were arrested after Israel’s attack. It says that at least 59 UN personnel are being held by the group.

Abu Ras told Reuters that security agencies were acting “under full judicial supervision” and that public prosecutors were being kept informed “step by step”. It was certain, he said, that the process would lead “to trials and the issuance of judicial rulings”.

Separately, Nasruddin Amer, a senior Houthi official, told the dpa news agency on Friday that the detained UN workers would be tried on charges of spying for Israel.

“The judiciary will determine the penalty for those accused of spying for Israel in accordance with Yemeni law,” Amer said. “This is not a law we enacted. It is a law that has been in effect and applied in the country by previous regimes.”

The UN defendants are Yemenis and could face the death penalty under the nation’s laws.

Trial ‘not against the organisations’

Hundreds of UN personnel, including a small number of international staff, remain in parts of Houthi-controlled Yemen, according to Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary general.

Houthi security forces entered several UN offices in Sanaa on Sunday. The UN says it is operating under increasingly difficult conditions, hindering its ability to provide assistance to those in need in Yemen.

Amer told dpa: “The trial is not against the organisations, but against those who exploited humanitarian work to carry out espionage against our country and our people.”

Abu Ras claimed that the Houthis are supporting humanitarian provision, and will “assist organisations committed to the principles of humanitarian work, facilitating their activities and work”.

There was no immediate comment from the World Food Programme.

Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis have targeted vessels in the Red Sea and carried out drone and missile attacks against Israel, saying that they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians under fire in Gaza.

Israel has regularly struck the war-torn country, targeting civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings and the main international airport, while killing dozens at a time.

Last month, Israeli strikes on Sanaa and the northern province of al-Jawf killed dozens of people, including journalists and children.