Yemeni actress, model released after nearly five years in Houthi prison

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have released actress and model Intisar Al-Hammadi after nearly five years in detention, her lawyer confirmed on October 26.

Al-Hammadi had been imprisoned on charges of committing an indecent act and drug possession in a case that rights groups described as “marred with irregularities and abuse," Caliber.Az reports per Arab News. 

Al-Hammadi was detained in the capital, Sanaa, in February 2021. A Houthi-run court sentenced her to five years in prison, highlighting what human rights organisations say is the ongoing repression of women and dissent in areas controlled by the Houthis.

Lawyer Khalid Al-Kamal confirmed that Al-Hammadi was released on October 25 after serving almost the full sentence at the Central Prison in Sanaa.

An online statement signed by dozens of public figures in Yemen welcomed her release and urged the Houthis to ensure Al-Hammadi receives proper health care.

Al-Hammadi, 25, was arrested alongside three other women. While Al-Hammadi and Yousra Al-Nashri were sentenced to five years, the remaining two women received one and three-year sentences, respectively. Human Rights Watch criticised the court proceedings as arbitrary and lacking due process.

Born to a Yemeni father and Ethiopian mother, Al-Hammadi had worked as a model for four years and appeared in two Yemeni soap drama series in 2020. Before her arrest, she was the primary breadwinner for her four-member family.

The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have controlled Sanaa and much of northern Yemen since 2014, when they advanced from Saada province and forced the internationally recognised government into exile. In 2015, a Saudi-led coalition including the United Arab Emirates intervened to restore the government, though the conflict has since reached a stalemate. Recent agreements between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have halted cross-border attacks in exchange for a reduction of Saudi-led airstrikes.

Both the Houthis and the internationally recognised government have imposed strict restrictions on opposition and women’s freedom of movement. According to Human Rights Watch, women have been barred from traveling between provinces and, in some cases, from traveling abroad without the permission of a male guardian or accompaniment by an immediate male relative.

By Sabina Mammadli