NEW YORK CITY: The UN’s human rights chief on Friday demanded that the Houthis immediately return the body of a UN staff member who died in their custody in Yemen.

The high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, also warned that another detained UN worker might have been tortured into making “confessions” that were filmed and circulated online this week.

Two weeks after the UN learned of the death of Mohammed Ibrahim El-Shami, a Yemeni employee of the UN Human Rights Office, the Houthis have still not handed over his body to his relatives, UN spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in Geneva. He is believed to have died at least a month before the family was informed.

In addition to demanding that El-Shami’s body be handed over to his family, Turk called on the Houthi de facto authorities to urgently provide the precise date, cause and circumstances of his death, and to ensure that those responsible were held to account.

“Our colleague must be laid to rest in a dignified manner in accordance with the wishes of his family, which was denied contact with him for two years while he was in detention,” Shamdasani said.

The Human Rights Office also condemned videos shared by the Houthis this week that showed another of its detained employees making “confessions” it said were clearly coerced and abusive in nature.

Shamdasani said the release of the material publicly exposed the UN member of staff to vilification, put him at greater risk and caused his family significant distress.

“We fear gravely that he and others in Houthi custody have been subjected to torture or other ill-treatment to make such statements,” she added.

Turk repeated his call for all 70 UN and humanitarian workers who are in Houthi detention to be released immediately and unconditionally.

Until that happens, he said, the Houthis must disclose where every detainee is being held and the state of their health, allow them regular contact with their families, and provide medical care, including any specialized treatment that is required. Those in need of critical medical attention must be released urgently, he added.

El-Shami had been held by the Iran-backed militia since June 6, 2024. His family was informed of his death only recently, more than a month after it happened. A Yemeni government minister alleged the UN employee was tortured to death in a Houthi prison.

He was the second member of UN staff to die in Houthi detention, following the death of a World Food Programme employee in February 2025. The Houthis have accused the detained UN and aid workers of spying for the US and Israel, a charge that can carry the death penalty in Yemen. The UN rejects the allegation.