New Delhi: Will Kerala-origin nurse Nimisha Priya (34) be executed by the Houthis in northern Yemen after Eid?
Nimisha Priya Action Council member Samuel claims that he received a voice message to that effect recently and has sought legal help. The message was apparently from a woman advocate who said that time is running out for Nimisha.
“Everything is closed in Yemen for the Eid holidays. As soon as the holidays are over, she is likely to be executed, unless some steps are taken,” the woman lawyer apparently said.
Samuel also lives in Yemen. Nimisha’s mother Premakumari is staying with him for the time being.
Nimisha is accused of killing her business partner Talal Abdo Mahdi. The nurse, however, denied that she had any intention of killing the man. According to her, Mahdi was abusive and violent. He had even snatched her passport. In a bid to retrieve her passport from him, Nimisha drugged Mahdi. However, there was an overdose and he died.
Authorities in north Yemen were quick to sentence her to death. The Indian government took up the matter with the Yemenis but they claimed that she is in the clutches of the Houthi rebels.
India also got Iran to speak to the Houthis. The latter apparently told the Iranians that Nimisha’s life can only be spared if Mahdi’s family pardons her.
Premakumari then travelled to northern Yemen and apologised to Mahdi’s family on her daughter’s behalf. She even spoke to the tribal leaders there, but to no avail.