UN demands return of dead employee body in custody of Huthis

O uN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today demanded Huthis rebels to surrender the body of a UN official, Mohamad al Shami, who died in their custody after being held for more than two years.

Guterres spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, confirmed that Al Shami’s corpse, held together with other humanitarian and diplomatic personnel since June 2024, “continues in the custody of Huthis authorities” and that there is already a “contact person” of the United Nations “talking to the Huthis” to try to get them to agree to return the body.

Asked about “some reason” for which the Huthis oppose this, Dujarric demonstrated his firm displeasure. “What reason could there be? There is no reason for you to keep retaining 70 of our colleagues, and I can't imagine any reason why anyone would want to keep retaining a person's corpse. His corpse must be returned to his family as soon as possible”, he said.

For this reason, the spokesman reiterated the “call” of the organization and the general secretary, the Portuguese António Guterres to carry out a “fast, independent, impartial and effective investigation into the circumstances of his death”.

He also appealed to the group to return Al Shami’s lifeless body to his family “without further delay, thus allowing a dignified funeral.”.

Al Shami is the second UN professional “who died when he was arbitrarily detained by the Huthis. This raises serious concerns about the safety and well-being of all other colleagues and other humanitarian personnel who are held in a similar situation, in particular those suffering from serious diseases,” Dujarric warned on the eve.