US envoy calls on Houthis to release detained embassy staff in Sanaa

The United States envoy to Yemen, Steven Fagin, yesterday called on the Houthis to immediately release the 12 current and former Yemeni staff members of the US embassy who were detained by the group a year ago in the capital, Sanaa, Anadolu news agency reported.

“Today, we mark a somber anniversary. One year ago today, the Houthis began detaining Yemeni staff of the US embassy in Sanaa,” Fagin said in a statement, adding that the Houthis raided their homes in the middle of the night, rounded them up and took them away.

“At present, eight current staff members and four former staff members remain detained in an unknown location. The 12 dedicated individuals who are being detained did nothing wrong. They were just doing their jobs,” Fagin said, stressing that “it is time to return them to their homes.”

“I call on the Houthis to release all of them immediately, so they can be reunited with their families… They are innocent Yemeni citizens who are being held illegally and without justification,” he added.

There was no comment from the Houthis after Fagin’s statement.

Most of foreign missions closed and withdrew their staff from Sanaa in early 2015 after the Houthis took control of the city.

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