Yemeni model Entisar al-Hammadi moved to solitary confinement in Houthi prison

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia moved Entisar al-Hammadi, a model sentenced to five years in prison last year, to solitary confinement, local media reported on Saturday.

Al-Hammadi was moved to solitary confinement following “horrific torture” at the Central Prison in Houthi-held Sanaa, news website Yemen Future reported, citing sources.

According to Yemen Future, al-Hammadi was physically abused and severely beaten.

Two sources, one of whom is a prisoner at the Central Prison, said the warden beat up al-Hammadi with an electric cable for chewing the narcotic plant khat outside her designated cell.

Al-Hammadi was detained in February 2021 and sentenced to five years in prison eight months later.

The Houthis charged al-Hammadi with prostitution, drug dealing, and breaching Islamic norms. Al-Hammadi denied all charges.

In May 2021, human rights organization Amnesty International said that al-Hammadi was forced to confess to several crimes, including drug possession and prostitution.

Born to a Yemeni father and an Ethiopian mother, the young woman worked as a model for four years and acted in two Yemeni television series in 2020.