Yemeni model and actress Entisar al-Hammadi has been released after serving five years in prison under the custody of Houthi rebels in Sanaa, her lawyer confirmed to AFP.
Hammadi was arrested in February 2021 while on her way to a photo shoot and later sentenced to five years on charges of prostitution, drug abuse and fornication.
Her lawyer, Khaled al-Kamal, maintained that the accusations were baseless and aimed at silencing women who challenge strict social norms.
“Entisar al-Hammadi was released yesterday evening and is now in her home,” al-Kamal said, adding that her health had significantly deteriorated during her imprisonment.
Born to a Yemeni father and an Ethiopian mother, Hammadi had gained popularity as a model and actress, appearing in two Yemeni television dramas. Her decision to appear in photographs without a headscarf drew backlash in Yemen’s deeply conservative society, which has little tolerance for women in the public eye.
Rights groups have condemned her detention as politically and socially motivated. Amnesty International reported that Hammadi was blindfolded, physically and verbally abused, and subjected to racist slurs while being coerced into confessing to fabricated offences.
During her incarceration at the Central Prison in Sanaa, Hammadi was repeatedly humiliated and called derogatory names because of her mixed heritage, her lawyer said.
Her case has come to symbolise the broader struggle for women’s rights in Yemen, where the conflict has deepened social repression and curtailed civil liberties. Activists have welcomed her release but warned that it highlights the growing dangers faced by women who defy traditional restrictions under Houthi rule.
