Yemeni actress accused of ‘indecent act’ released from five-year Houthi imprisonment
Al-Hammadi was convicted of committing an “indecent act” and possessing drugs by a Houthi-run court, a verdict that the actresses’ lawyer says was “marred with irregularities and abuse.”
Yemeni actress and model Intisar al-Hammadi was released from prison on Saturday after Yemen’s Houthis convicted her of committing an “indecent act” and possessing drugs, according to a report by the Associated Press.
A Houthi-run court convicted Al-Hammadi in Yemen’s capital Sanaa in February 2021 and sentenced her to five years in prison. The trial is yet another example of the terror group’s repression of women, said AP‘s report.
Khalid al-Kamal, Al-Hammadi’s lawyer, said on Sunday that the case was “marred with irregularities and abuse,” and announced she would be released after spending almost five years in Sanaa’s Central Prison.
According to AP, dozens of Yemeni public figures welcomed the model’s release and called on the Houthis to provide her with healthcare.
Al-Hammadi was born to a Yemeni father and an Ethiopian mother. She had worked as a model for four years and acted in two soap drama series in 2020, making her the sole breadwinner for her family of four prior to her conviction.
Houthi terrorists stand guard as people detained by the Houthis wait for their release in Sanaa, Yemen January 25, 2025. (credit: KHALED ABDULLAH/REUTERS)
Houthi prisons also hold UN members
Earlier this month, the United Nations flew 12 international staff members out of Yemen after they were detained and released by Houthi forces in Sanaa.
According to UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg’s office, 53 UN members remain detained by the terrorist organization.
The Houthis, one of Iran’s terror proxies, have ruled Sanaa and most of North Yemen since 2014, according to AP, after forcing the internationally-recognized government into exile. Yemen has been in a civil war for over a decade since the takeover.
Human Rights Watch says that the Houthis have long imposed tight restrictions on women, limiting their movements and barring them from travelling between provinces, and in some cases, abroad, without a male’s permission or company.
