United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations expressed “deep concern” on Saturday about the Houthis “arbitrarily transferring a large number of their detained employees to the criminal prosecution,” renewing the call for their immediate release.

The Houthis have arrested dozens of employees of the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations, most of them since last June, saying they are members of an “American-Israeli spy network,” a charge the United Nations denies.

A statement issued by the heads of the affected United Nations entities and international non-governmental organizations said, “We are deeply concerned about what was reported regarding the Houthi de facto authorities referring a large number of arbitrarily detained colleagues to the criminal prosecution.”

The Iranian-backed Houthi authorities did not issue any announcement in this regard.

Among those who signed the statement were the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Audrey Azoulay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, and the Executive Director of Oxfam International, Amitabh Behar.

Last June, the Houthis arrested 13 United Nations employees, including six working in the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, in addition to more than 50 employees in non-governmental organizations and another in an embassy, ​​according to the United Nations.< /p>

The Houthis confirmed that they had arrested members of an “American-Israeli spy network” working under the guise of humanitarian organizations, a charge that the United Nations categorically denied.

There are two employees of the Commission’s office who have been detained in an unknown location, one since November 2021 and the other since August 2023