Human Rights: Houthis subject Intisar al-Hammadi to an unfair trial
English - Thursday 01 July 2021 الساعة 11:52 am
Sana'a, NewsYemen:
Human Rights Watch said, on Wednesday, that the Houthi authorities are unfairly prosecuting a Yemeni actress and model, who has been arbitrarily detained since February 20, 2021, over a case marred by irregularities and violations.
She confirmed that her lawyer told Human Rights Watch that in June, authorities brought the model, Intisar al-Hammadi, 20, twice before the West Amana Court in Sanaa, on charges of immoral act and drug possession.
He added that the authorities had prevented him from seeing court documents since his appointment in her case in March, and had suspended his court appearance since late May, apparently in retaliation for his public comments on the case.
Sources told Human Rights Watch that the Houthi authorities forced al-Hammadi to sign a document while she was blindfolded during interrogation, and offered to release her if she helped them inflict "sex and drugs" on their enemies. Houthi authorities also threatened to subject her to a "virginity test".
“Houthi authorities’ unfair trial, arbitrary arrest, and detention abuses by Houthi authorities are a stark reminder of the abuses women are being subjected to at the hands of authorities across Yemen,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
He stressed, "The Houthi authorities must guarantee their rights to a fair trial, including knowing the charges and evidence against them so that they can appeal them, and immediately drop the loosely and vaguely worded charges to the point of arbitrariness."
Between May and June, Human Rights Watch interviewed two relatives of Al Hammadi in Yemen; its lawyer, Khaled al-Kamal; two witnesses visited her in prison; And three human rights groups document their case. Human Rights Watch requested comments from the ministries of interior and foreign affairs, which are controlled by the Houthi militia, and the office of the attorney general, but received no response.
Al-Hammadi’s lawyer said that on February 20, Houthi forces stopped the car in which she was traveling with three other people in Sanaa and arrested them all. Houthi forces blindfolded Al Hammadi and her friend and took them to the Criminal Investigation Building, where they held Al Hammadi for ten days without contact with the outside world. Her relatives said they searched for her during that time, but Houthi authorities have not disclosed her whereabouts.
In March, authorities transferred her to Sanaa's Central Prison. Her lawyer said that authorities arrested her because she was in a car with a man accused of drug trafficking: “Her phone was confiscated, her pictures as a model were treated as obscene, and consequently she was considered a prostitute [in the eyes of the Houthi authorities].”
He said that prison guards verbally abused her, calling her a "whore" and a "nation" because of her dark skin and Ethiopian origin.
Both the prosecutor's office and court authorities refused to give her lawyer a copy of the list of charges against her. Her case was referred in June to court, where she appeared on June 6 and June 9.
The lawyer told Human Rights Watch that authorities halted their pursuit of a forced “virginity test” after Amnesty International issued a statement condemning the effort on May 7.
On April 27, the lawyer said, a pro-Houthi gunman threatened him while he was sitting in a cafe in Sanaa: “A man in civilian clothes came to me and asked if I was Intisar Al Hammadi’s lawyer, and I said yes, then he told me that I and my family would pay the price if I did not leave Al Hammadi’s case.”
He added that on May 26, he received a notification from the Sanaa municipality authorities to stop him from working in the Western Municipal Court (Sana'a), without explanation, which effectively prevented him from continuing to work in the Al-Hammadi case. A news website reported that Houthi authorities banned the publication of information about Al Hammadi's case after the lawyer was suspended.
On May 24, a group of 13 people, including human rights activists and the lawyer, were allowed to visit al-Hammadi in prison for approximately 40 minutes. The group published a joint statement about their visit the following day.
Human Rights Watch interviewed two members of the group who said that al-Hammadi told them there was no evidence against her and that authorities forced her to sign a document while she was blindfolded. She also told them that during the first interrogations, Houthi officers told her that she could be released if she agreed to work with them in setting up a trap for their enemies by seducing them with sex, drugs and alcohol, but she refused.
The lawyer said that there are five other women being held alongside Al Hammadi in the same prison for similar “crimes” related to an “indecent act,” but that the women refused to publicize their cases for fear of social stigma and damage to their families’ reputations.
Yesterday, it was announced that the artist and model, Intisar Al Hammadi, was transferred to a hospital in Sanaa, after her suicide attempt inside the prisons of the Houthi militia.
Amnesty International activist Louay Al-Azazi wrote that the detainee in the prisons of the terrorist Houthi militia, Intisar Al-Hammadi, tried to commit suicide; After the central prison administration transferred her to the prostitution department; This affected her psyche, and prompted her to attempt suicide, but she was rescued at the last moments, and she is currently in a hospital in Sana'a.
