SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties stated that the Houthi group continues to detain many employees of international and relief organizations, which constitutes a blatant violation of human rights and international laws. The organization considered that these arrests reflect the Houthis' tendency to use humanitarian workers as political pressure tools, which impedes humanitarian efforts and increases the suffering of the Yemeni people.

The organization pointed out that the Houthi group has fabricated unreliable reports to justify its detention of the employees, in an attempt to mislead the international community and tarnish the reputation of humanitarian organizations. It added that these reports lack any credibility and are a desperate attempt to justify their illegal behavior.

Relatives and colleagues of some of the detainees told Human Rights Watch that the Houthi authorities have not revealed the whereabouts of the people they have arrested and have not allowed them to communicate with their employers or families, a behavior that can amount to enforced disappearance under international law.

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, condemned the Houthis' detention of UN staff, considering this a "concerning development that raises serious concerns about the Houthis' commitment to a negotiated settlement of the conflict." The US State Department also "strongly condemned" the Houthis' detention of Yemeni staff and the group's "dissemination of misleading information about local staff of the US mission through coerced and false televised confessions," according to the statement.

SAM Organization considered that the international community's condemnation of these practices is insufficient and does not rise to the level of the incident. It stressed the need for effective action and the use of strong pressure tools against the Houthis to ensure the immediate release of all detainees, including the imposition of targeted sanctions and greater support for diplomatic efforts to end these violations.

According to the SAM Organization, these violations have been repeated against humanitarian workers. Among the prominent cases is the killing of Hisham Al-Hakimi in Houthi prisons, the abduction of Abdulmoin Azan, a staff member of the UNHCR office in Yemen, who was kidnapped in November 2021 and is still detained, and the case of Aamer Abdulmajeed Al-Aghbari, who has been detained since October 29, 2021, after being abducted in the Al-Asbahi area. The organization stated that these incidents highlight the dangers faced by relief workers and call for a firm international response.

One humanitarian worker, Omar, told Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper that "the situation is unbearable, and the incitement campaigns that followed the arrests of our colleagues in mosques, media, and popular circles have turned our lives into hell. Each of us and our families has become accused until proven otherwise, while we await the raid and arrest at any time."

These incidents demonstrate the grave risks and challenges faced by humanitarian workers in Yemen due to the Houthis' actions, which the international community has condemned but not addressed with sufficient strength and urgency according to the organizations working on the ground.

SAM stressed that the continued violations require a decisive response from the international community, calling for the formation of a united international front to work on using all available means to pressure the Houthi group to ensure the release of all detainees, and to protect humanitarian workers from any future threats.

The organization concluded its statement by emphasizing that ending the suffering of the detainees and ensuring their safety is a collective responsibility that requires the concerted efforts of the international community and a strong commitment to defending human rights and shared human values.