Yemeni Model Entisar Hammadi released From Prison After Five Years
Sanaa, Yemen - Yemeni model Entisar Hammadi has been released from prison after being detained for five years, Middle East Eye reported on Monday. hammadi was arrested in 2019 by Houthi authorities in Sanaa and sentenced to six years in prison on charges including possessing hashish and “violating public morals.” Rights groups have long condemned the case as politically motivated and rife with due process violations.
The release follows years of campaigning by international human rights organizations and mounting pressure on the Houthi authorities. Hammadi’s case became a symbol of the broader crackdown on women’s rights in Yemen, where warring parties – including the Houthis, the internationally recognised government, and the Southern Transitional Council – have increasingly restricted freedoms, especially for women.
Born to an Ethiopian mother and a Yemeni father, Hammadi gained a following on social media for sharing photos in both traditional Yemeni dress and modern outfits. She had worked as a model for four years and appeared in two Yemeni television series in 2020, amassing thousands of followers on Instagram and Facebook.
Rights groups detailed a pattern of abuse during Hammadi’s detention. Amnesty international reported that she was “interrogated while blindfolded, physically and verbally abused, subjected to racist insults and forced to ‘confess’ to several offences – including drug possession and prostitution.” Human Rights Watch (HRW) described the court proceedings as “marred with irregularities and abuse,” and condemned them as arbitrary and devoid of due process.
HRW has documented a wider trend of curtailed women’s rights in Yemen. A March 2024 report from the institution detailed how women are being barred from travelling between provinces and, in some cases, from leaving the country without permission from a male guardian or a close male relative. These policies severely impact women’s access to work, education, healthcare, and family visits.
In 2021, reports surfaced that Hammadi had attempted to take her own life while in detention, further raising concerns about her well-being and the conditions of her imprisonment. The circumstances surrounding her release remain unclear, but it marks a significant, albeit long overdue, progress in a case that drew international scrutiny to the human rights situation in Yemen.
