Yemen’s Houthi rebels have released an actress and model, Intisar Al Hammadi, who spent almost five years in prison on charges of indecency and drug possession.
Ms Al Hammadi's lawyer Khalid Al Kamal announced her release on Sunday. Human rights groups had described her case as having been marred by irregularities and abuse.
Detained by militiamen in Yemen's rebel-held capital, Sanaa, in February 2021, Ms Al Hammadi was sentenced to five years in prison after a Houthi-run court convicted her of committing an indecent act and having drugs in her possession. She was 20 years old when she was detained.
A statement signed by dozens of public figures in Yemen welcomed her release and called on the Houthis to provide health care. Her detention and trial were regarded as an example of Houthi repression of women and dissent in areas under their control.
Her lawyer, Khalid Al Kamal, said Ms Al Hammadi, who was arrested along with three other women, was released from the Central Prison in Sanaa on Saturday. She and one of the women, Yousra Al Nashri, were sentenced to five years, while the two other women received one and three years in prison respectively.
Human Rights Watch had criticised the court proceedings as arbitrary and lacking due process. Ms Al Hammadi attempted to take her own life in 2021, rights groups said at the time.
Born to an Ethiopian mother and a Yemeni father, Ms Al Hammadi had posted dozens of pictures online in traditional costume, jeans, or a leather jacket, both with and without an Islamic headscarf. She has thousands of followers on Instagram and Facebook.
Human Rights Watch said she had worked as a model for four years and acted in two Yemeni TV series. Amnesty International said that upon her arrest, she was interrogated while blindfolded, physically and verbally abused, subjected to racist insults and forced to "confess" to several offences.
Violence against women, especially in Houthi-controlled areas, soared after Yemen plunged into a civil war in 2014 that the UN says has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
With reporting from agencies …
