In a prison cell shrouded in silence and neglect, Yemeni actress and model Entisar al-Hammadi endures the slow unraveling of her health—alone, unseen, and untreated.

Since her arrest by Houthi forces on February 20, 2021, al-Hammadi has remained in detention under conditions described by rights groups as arbitrary, cruel, and in flagrant violation of Yemeni and international law.

Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC) has raised urgent alarm over her rapidly deteriorating condition. According to credible reports obtained by the organization, al-Hammadi has developed acute health complications, including a thyroid mass, following surgery in late 2023. The organization emphasizes that her current state is the result of deliberate and prolonged medical neglect inside the prison.

A confidential memo from the Houthi-run General Police Hospital—reviewed by WJWC—revealed that al-Hammadi underwent surgery in December 2023 to remove a lipoma from her left underarm. Doctors recommended daily post-operative monitoring and the removal of surgical stitches ten days after the procedure. Yet, those instructions were entirely ignored. She was never returned to the hospital, never examined again, and has remained in an environment described by observers as "harsh and inhumane."

As her condition worsens, so too does the silence surrounding her fate. WJWC asserts that al-Hammadi’s four-year imprisonment constitutes not only a miscarriage of justice, but a grave human rights violation. The organization reports that she has endured psychological torture, enforced disappearance, prolonged denial of legal representation, and systemic deprivation of health care—without ever receiving a fair trial.

The judgment issued against her was arbitrary, WJWC affirms, handed down by a court lacking the basic elements of due process. Al-Hammadi was denied the right to defend herself or to appoint independent legal counsel. And now, despite serving over three-quarters of her sentence and facing escalating health risks, she remains imprisoned—an act WJWC deems retaliatory and a violation of her fundamental rights to life, dignity, and medical care.

“This is not an isolated case, but part of a broader pattern of abuse targeting women under Houthi control,” the organization said in its statement. “Entisar al-Hammadi’s story reflects the cruelty and systemic discrimination that female detainees suffer inside these detention centers.”

Numerous testimonies have confirmed that women detained by Houthi authorities are routinely subjected to physical and psychological abuse, denied family contact and legal aid, and often coerced into signing confessions under duress. Many are imprisoned without formal charges or fair trials. WJWC warns that these practices constitute systematic and widespread violations that demand urgent international accountability.

The organization further stated that the denial of medical care to al-Hammadi violates Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which mandates humane treatment of all persons deprived of their liberty, as well as Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which guarantees the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

Additionally, her treatment breaches the United Nations’ Mandela Rules for the treatment of prisoners, and meets the threshold for cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment prohibited by the Convention Against Torture. WJWC strongly condemned the Houthi militia’s ongoing use of detention as a tool of repression, especially against women.

The group also expressed deep frustration with the international community’s inaction, urging greater global attention and responsibility. “There can be no justice without truth, accountability, and redress for victims,” the organization stated. “And Entisar al-Hammadi stands at the heart of this injustice.”

WJWC is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Entisar al-Hammadi and for urgent medical intervention to treat her worsening condition. The organization holds the Houthi authorities fully responsible for any psychological or physical harm inflicted upon her during detention.

Furthermore, WJWC urges the international community, United Nations agencies, and human rights organizations to apply maximum pressure on the Houthis to release all arbitrarily detained individuals, especially women who continue to be silenced and brutalized behind prison walls.

In its closing remarks, the organization warned that the Houthis’ continued detention of Entisar al-Hammadi—despite the collapse of legal justifications and the clear deterioration of her health—is emblematic of a larger policy of repression and gender-based violence. Without urgent international action, countless other women will continue to suffer in the shadows.

Released by

Women Journalists Without Chains

April 16, 2025