Yemen’s Houthis have charged Intisar al Hammadi with committing an indecent act by modelling and with drug possession and Human Rights Watch says the rebels reportedly threatened to subject her to a “virginity test”.
An international rights group has accused Yemen’s Houthi rebels of prosecuting a female actor and model on charges of committing an indecent act and drug possession in a case “marred with irregularities and abuse.”
The Iran-backed Houthis, who control Yemen’s capital of Sanaa and much of the country’s north, detained 20-year-old Intisar al Hammadi in Sanaa in February along with three others she was traveling with, according to Human rights watch.
Ten days after her detention, the Houthis said they had arrested al Hammadi because she was in a car with a man accused of dealing drugs.
They confiscated her phone and “her modeling photos were treated like an act of indecency and therefore she was (labelled) a prostitute,” the New York-based group said in a statement.
Al Hammadi’s detention and trial showcase the Houthi repression of women in areas under their control in war-torn Yemen. An Associated Press report last year documented that woman who dare dissent, or even enter the public sphere, have become targets in an escalating crackdown.
Officially, the Houthis have charged the actor with committing an indecent act and drug possession.
The trial of al Hammadi, who appeared before a Houthi-run court June 5 and June 9, is ongoing.
Human Rights Watch said the Houthis did not respond to its requests for comment. A spokesman for the rebels was not immediately available Wednesday for comment.
Quoting her lawyer, Human Rights Watch said prison guards verbally abused the actor, calling her a “whore” and “slave,” because of her dark skin and Ethiopian origin.
Al Hammadi was born to a Yemeni father and an Ethiopian mother. She has worked as a model for four years and acted in two Yemeni soap drama series in 2020. She was the sole breadwinner for her four-member family, including her blind father and a disabled brother.
HRW said the Houthis offered to release al Hammadi if she would help them entrap their enemies with “sex and drugs.” The rebels were apparently referring to the internationally recognized government and a Saudi-led coalition with whom the rebels have been at war since 2014.