Who is Entisar al-Hammadi? Yemeni model released after nearly five years in Houthi prison

Yemeni model walks free after 5 years in Houthi prison

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have released model Entisar al-Hammadi after nearly five years in prison, her lawyer and a security source told AFP on Sunday.

Hammadi, 23, was arrested in February 2021 in Sanaa while heading to a photo shoot and sentenced to five years on charges of prostitution, drug abuse, and fornication, allegations her lawyer and rights groups have described as false and targeting women’s liberties.

"Entisar al-Hammadi was released yesterday evening and is now in her home," her lawyer, Khaled al-Kamal, told AFP. "Entisar suffered from various illnesses, and her condition had deteriorated as a result of the injustice she suffered." Rights groups reported that she had attempted to take her own life in 2021.

Born to a Yemeni father and Ethiopian mother, Hammadi had worked as a model for four years and appeared in two Yemeni TV series. She sometimes posted pictures online without an Islamic headscarf, defying conservative norms and sparking controversy.

Amnesty International said that upon her arrest, Hammadi “was interrogated while blindfolded, physically and verbally abused, subjected to racist insults and forced to 'confess' to several offences, including drug possession and prostitution.” According to her lawyer, she faced discrimination in prison and was derogatorily called “whore” and “slave” because of her dark complexion.

Violence against women has escalated in Houthi-controlled areas since Yemen’s civil war began in 2014, which the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

(With agency inputs)