The al-Houthi Court issues a sentence of 5 years in prison Yemeni model Intisar al-Hammadi

A Houthi illegal court in Sanaa has upheld a five-year jail term for sewing activist Intisar al-Hammadi, a trial being held on trumped-up charges.

The court in Western Amanat Sanaa, which is under the control of the Houthi coup militia – Iran’s arm in Yemen – sentenced two of Intisar al-Hammadi’s companions to five years in prison and the other to one year in prison.

On October 25th, the court took the case of the kidnapped Yemeni artist Intisar al-Hammadi and her companions to a hearing on Sunday, November 7th.

The Houthi court’s decision came after a controversial mock trial and more than nine months after al-Hammadi and her companions were kidnapped and arbitrarily detained while on their way with two female colleagues and a friend to a photographic session on February 20.

Al-Hammadi faced a series of moral charges from the Houthi militias. The defendant lacked a fair public trial, according to observers. Lawyers and human rights activists described the trial of al-Hammadi and her companions as sham trials, stressing the invalidity of the procedures of arrest and search of the accused.

“In an earlier statement, Human Rights Watch said that Houthi authorities are unfairly prosecuting al-Hammadi, and in May, the rights group Amnesty International reported that al-Hammadi was forced to confess to several crimes including drug possession and prostitution, stressing that the case was marred by irregularities and violations”.