Amnesty International stated on Friday that Houthi authorities in Yemen must halt plans to conduct a virginity test on an actress and model who is being held "on fabricated charges," and called for her release. The Yemeni woman, Intisar al-Hamadi, 20 years old, was arrested in February at a checkpoint in the capital, Sana'a, controlled by the Houthi group amid the ongoing six-year conflict in Yemen. A judicial source told Reuters earlier that she was accused of committing acts against public morals and violating Islamic law.
Amnesty International noted that "Intisar al-Hamadi frequently appeared in photos online, including in posts on social media, without a hijab, defying the strict societal norms in Yemen." Yemen has consistently ranked near the bottom of the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index. The organization continued, "Hamadi was arrested by security forces in civilian clothes at a checkpoint in Sana'a on February 20... During her detention, she was blindfolded while being interrogated, subjected to physical and verbal abuse, faced racial insults, and was forced to 'confess' to committing several crimes, including drug possession and prostitution."
Additionally, one member of the prosecution team informed her lawyer on Wednesday of plans to conduct a virginity test on her within days. The organization asserts that forced virginity tests are a form of sexual violence that amounts to torture under international law. "The Houthi authorities have a deplorable record of the arbitrary detention of individuals on unfounded charges to silence or punish critics, activists, journalists, and members of religious minorities, as well as subjecting them to torture and other forms of ill-treatment," said Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director of the organization for the Middle East and North Africa.
The Houthi authorities did not respond to a request from Reuters for comment. Amnesty stated that an armed individual contacted Hamadi's lawyer in April and threatened him, asking him to withdraw from the case. The Houthi group, which controls most of northern Yemen, ousted the internationally recognized Yemeni government from power in Sana'a in late 2014.
