Saeed Batati

AL-MUKALLA: Dozens of Yemeni activists, politicians and journalists have signed an online petition to force the Iran-backed Houthis to release the abducted Yemeni model Entesar Al-Hammadi and her colleagues.

Appalled by reports that the Houthis would subject the model to virginity testing, the petition called upon the militants to apologize to the model and release her.
“We strongly call for the immediate release of Entesar Al-Hammadi and her colleagues and (for) an apology for Entesar Al-Hammadi and her colleagues for (this) arbitrary detention,” the petition read.

Amnesty International on Friday urged the Houthis to halt plans for subjecting the model to virginity testing and to release her, also accusing the militia of arbitrarily detaining opposition figures, journalists, and other artists and actresses.

Snatched by the Houthis in a Sanaa street on Feb. 20, the model was thrown into solitary confinement as the rebels banned media coverage of the case and forbade her lawyer from speaking to international news outlets.

Ahmed Seif Hashed, an MP, described the group as “the worst” rulers Yemen had on Twitter.