In response to the Yemeni President approval of a death sentence for Nimisha Priya India has stated that it is offering all possible assistance to her.
Yemeni President Rashad al alimi has approved the death sentence for Nimisha Priya nurse from Kerala who has been imprisoned since 2017 for the murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi. The execution is expected to take place within a month.
Who is Nimisha Priya?
Nimisha Priya is a nurse from the Palakkad district of Kerala. After completing her nursing training she moved to Yemen in 2008 to support her parents who worked as daily wages laborers. She initially worked at several hospitals in Yemen before deciding to open her own clinic.
In 2014 Priya met Talal Abdo Mahdi who promised to assist her in starting the clinic. Since Yemeni law requires foreign entrepreneurs to partner with local they agreed to a business partnership. However their relationship soured due to disagreements and the partnership ended. Priya eventually started her clinic in 2015 without Mahdi which reportedly angered him. He began threatening her and allegedly took her passport to prevent her from leaving Yemen. Priya filed a complaint against him leading to his arrest in 2016 although he was later released.
In 2017 during an ongoing dispute Priya injected Mahdi with sedatives in an attempt to retrieve her passport. However Mahdi died from an overdose. A year later Priya was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.
Priya family has been making efforts to have the death sentence overturned. Her mother Prema Kumari appealed to the Yemeni Supreme Court but their appeal was rejected in 2023. The family also sought to negotiate the payment of diya (blood money) to Mahdi family but that effort stalled in September after Abdullah Ameer the lawyer hired by the Indian Embassy allegedly demanded a pre negotiation fee of $20,000/- (approximately Rs.16.6 lakh/-).
Priya mother traveled to the Yemeni capital Sanaa earlier this year. In response to the Yemeni President approval of the death sentence India stated it is providing all possible help. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said we understand that the family of Priya is exploring relevant options. The government is extending all possible help in the matter.
