Kidnapped Yemeni model to undergo forced virginity test

Dubai: The Yemeni model Entesar Al Hammadi who was kidnapped on February 20 this year by Houthi militants in Sana is likely to undergo a forced virginity test by the group, Arabic media reported.

The 19-year-old Yemeni model who was born to a Yemeni father and an Ethiopian mother was held by the militants alongside two of her friends.

Dozens of activists, politicians and journalists slammed their abduction and called for immediate release to the model and her colleagues.

According to media reports, Al Hammadi was forced to confess of possessing drugs and performing prostitution; now she is threatened to undergo a forced virginity test.

The case of the Yemeni model detained by the Houthis has gone viral. Amnesty International called not to force Entesar Al Hammadi, 19, who has been detained for about two months, to undergo a forced virginity test. It called for her immediate release.

Solo confinement

Beside her arrest, Houthis have banned any media coverage in her case as her lawyer has been stopped from speaking to international news outlets while the Yemeni model was thrown in a solo confinement.

According to the Yemeni media, Al Hammadi’s lawyer, Khaled Al Kamal, is being threatened by the militants and pressured to leave his client’s case.

Human rights activists have signed an online petition to pressure the Iran-backed Houthis to free the abducted Al Hammadi, apologize to her and ban the virginity test.