Yemen model jailed for five years on appeal

Mon, 13 February 2023 


An appeals court in Yemen's Huthi rebel-held capital Sanaa has confirmed a five-year jail sentence for a model accused of "prostitution", her lawyer said Monday, denouncing a political verdict.

The Iran-backed Huthis took over Sanaa in 2014 and have been enforcing a morality campaign, particularly against women.

Entisar al-Hammadi, 21, was arrested in February 2021 in Sanaa at a checkpoint while on her way to a photo shoot with a friend.

Last year the two women were sentenced to five years in jail by a lower court for "prostitution", "fornication" and "drug abuse".

Rights groups and her lawyer, Khaled al-Kamal, have dismissed the charges as lies and branded them an attack against the freedom of women.

Human Rights Watch has said the trial was riddled with "irregularities and abuse".

On Sunday an appeals court confirmed the earlier verdict, Kamal told AFP, adding that he will take the case to the supreme court.

"She was optimistic and hoped the verdict would be favourable to her," Kamal said.

"She was shocked by the verdict and began to shout and cry," he said, denouncing the ruling as politically motivated.

Hammadi, born to an Ethiopian mother and Yemeni father, has posted dozens of pictures on social media of her dressed in traditional costume, jeans or leather jacket, both with and without a headscarf.

She has thousands of followers on Instagram and Facebook.

Violence against women, especially in Huthi-controlled areas, has been on the rise since Yemen plunged into a civil war in 2014 that the United Nations says has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The Huthis control much of the north of the country, while the internationally-recognised government based in the southern city of Aden is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.

 

Houthi court upholds five-year sentence for Yemeni actress Intisar Al Hammadi

Al Hammadi was convicted of committing an indecent act and drug possession in 2021

Yemeni model Intisar Al Hammadi in a picture posted on her Facebook page. AFP

The National

Feb 14, 2023

A Houthi-run court has upheld a five-year sentence for jailed Yemeni actress Intisar Al Hammadi, who was convicted of committing an indecent act and drug possession, her lawyer said.

Al Hammadi was arrested along with three other women three years ago. Legal proceedings against the accused have been widely criticised by international rights groups.

The case has mirrored widespread Houthi repression and a crackdown on women in areas they control in war-torn Yemen.

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Al Hammadi's lawyer Khaled Al Kamal had previously told The National that his client had attempted to commit suicide shortly after she was jailed. He called the charges "baseless".

Born to a Yemeni father and Ethiopian mother, Al Hammadi was arrested while riding in a car with friends in Sanaa. She was the sole breadwinner for her four-member family, which includes her blind father and disabled brother.

Human Rights Watch has criticised the court proceedings as “marred with irregularities and abuse”. It said the Houthis confiscated Al Hammadi’s phone and “her modelling photos were treated like an act of indecency”.

Yemeni model Intisar Al Hammadi. SAM Organisation via Twitter

Al Hammadi and one of the women were first sentenced in November 2021 to five years. The other two were handed one and three years in prison, respectively.

The Court of Appeals in the Houthi-held capital of Sanaa upheld the sentences against Al Hammadi and Yousra Al Nashri, who was also handed a five-year sentence, according to lawyer Khalid Al Kamal, who represents all four women.

Yemen is now in its eighth year of war since the Iran-backed Houthis took over the capital Sanaa and a Saudi-led coalition intervened to restore the internationally recognised government to power.

In the Houthi-held areas, women who dare dissent, or even enter the public sphere, have become targets in an escalating crackdown by the Iran-backed rebels.

Updated: February 14, 2023,