A Yemeni actress and model detained by the Houthi rebels has been moved into solitary confinement, according to reports.

Entisar al-Hammadi, who is currently serving a five-year jail sentence, was moved to solitary confinement at the Houthi-controlled Central Prison in Sanaa, after being beaten with an electric cable, Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani said on Monday.

This was after she "chewed qat" outside of her designated ward, sources told local news site Yemen Future, who first reported on the harsh new conditions Saturday.

The information minister urged cultural organisations around the world and the United Nations to apply pressure on the Houthis to release her.

Human rights group Amnesty International told The New Arab that it could not confirm the update on al-Hammadi's detention.

Al-Hammadi was detained at a checkpoint in Sanaa run by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in February 2021. She was sentenced in November 2021 on charges of violating public morality, sparking outrage by human rights groups.

Early on, Al-Hammadi had reportedly threatened to go on hunger strike and attempted to take her own life.

The Houthis, who hold most of northern Yemen, ousted the internationally-recognised government from power in Sanaa in late 2014. 

The two parties, aided by partners elsewhere in the Middle East, have fought a war that has led to one of the world's worst-ever humanitarian disasters, according to the United Nations.