Geneva – SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties has condemned the Houthi group’s escalating campaign targeting international and humanitarian organizations in Yemen through a widespread wave of arbitrary arrests that began on the evening of August 31, 2025, in Sana’a and Hodeidah.

 

The campaign has resulted in the detention of sixteen current and former employees of United Nations organizations, including prominent local and international staff, in a move that constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and poses a direct threat to the relief efforts on which millions of Yemenis depend.According to journalist Fares Al-Humairi, the detained individuals from the World Food Programme’s Sana’a office include Ammar Nasser, Security and Safety Officer; Ghanem Ahmed Ghanem, Deputy Security and Safety Officer; Akram Al-Maghrabi, Assistant Security and Safety Officer; Wasim Sultan, Senior Information Technology Expert; Saeed Hassan, Information Technology Operations Officer; Iyad Shamsan, Information Technology Assistant; Ahmed Al-Saidi, Information Systems Specialist; and Salah Al-Iryani, Administrative Assistant.The campaign extended to the World Food Programme’s Hodeidah office, where Abdullah Al-Qadi, Security and Safety Officer; Jamal Qubaissy, Policy Officer; and Anas Humaid, Programme Assistant, were detained.

 

The arrests also targeted former employees, including Ayman Al-Mutawakil, Abdullah Al-Qadi, Ramzi Al-Hamdani, Saleh Al-Arbani, and Yahya Al-Habishi. Additionally, Luna Shukri, a Jordanian national and Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Yemen, was subjected to repeated interrogations following a Houthi raid on the organization’s Sana’a office, according to Al-Humairi.

 

SAM emphasized that these actions are a continuation of a previous wave of arrests in June 2024 targeting humanitarian workers, confirming a systematic policy aimed at undermining humanitarian operations and using them as tools for political blackmail and pressure.

 

The organization noted that these practices extend beyond targeting workers to include ongoing attempts to impose control over the activities of humanitarian organizations, manipulate aid distribution channels, and extort donors by using UN and international organization staff as bargaining chips. Such actions directly threaten the independence and neutrality of humanitarian work.SAM warned that the persistence of these violations directly jeopardizes the future of humanitarian aid programs in Yemen, putting millions of lives at risk amid the country’s catastrophic conditions.

 

The organization stressed that these arrests represent a serious challenge to the international community and a test of its commitment to protecting humanitarian workers.SAM calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees and an end to the policy of raids and arbitrary detentions targeting international organizations. It further urges the United Nations Secretary-General, the Security Council, and influential states to take urgent and practical action beyond mere condemnations, implementing concrete and deterrent measures to ensure the protection of humanitarian workers and hold Houthi leaders accountable for these violations.