Yemen Prez Approves Death Sentence For Indian Nurse Nimisha Priya Convicted Of Murder

New Delhi: Yemen President Rashad al-Alimi has approved the death sentence for Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, who has been jailed since 2017 for the murder of a Yemeni national. The execution will be done in a month’s time, media reports claimed. India’s External Affairs Ministry on Monday said it was aware of the development.

“We understand that the family of Priya is exploring relevant options. The government is extending all possible help in the matter,” MEA spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said.

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Back home, her family has been making efforts to save the 36-year-old nurse. Earlier this year, her mother Prema Kumari, 57, reached Sana’a, Yemen’s capital. According to reports, she had been reportedly trying to secure a waiver of the death penalty and negotiate with the victim’s family.

Know the Nimisha Priya Case

In 2017, Nimisha Priya was found guilty of killing Talal Abdo Mahdi. She was sentenced to death a year later by a trial court there. Her family had approached the Yemini Supreme Court against the trial court’s order. Their appeal was rejected in 2023. As the President has also rejected Priya’s appeal, she can only be released if the victim’s family and their tribal leaders release her. Prema Kumari’s talks with the victim’s family had come to an abrupt halt in September after Abdullah Ameer, the lawyer appointed by the Indian Embassy, demanded a pre-negotiation fee of $20,000 (approximately Rs16.6 lakh), reported Manorama online.

MEA has already provided $19,871 to Ameer in July. But he insisted on a total fee of $40,000, payable in two instalments before resumption of talks. The Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council managed to raise the first instalment of Ameer’s fee through crowdfunding. However, later they reportedly faced challenges in ensuring transparency to donors.

Who is Nimisha Priya?

A native of Kerala’s Palakkad, Nimisha Priya is a trained nurse. She worked in private hospitals in Yemen for a few years. Her husband and minor daughter came back to India in 2014 because of financial issues. A civil war had broken out in Yemen the same year and they could not go back to Yemen as the country stopped issuing new visas. In 2015, Priya sought Mahdi’s support to set up her clinic in Sana’a. According to Yemen’s law, only nationals are allowed to set up clinics and businesses.

According to her appeal plea in Yamani Supreme Court, Mahdi accompanied Priya to Kerala as she came home for a month’s holiday. During the visit, Mahdi allegedly stole Priya’s wedding photograph. Priya has alleged in her plea that Mahdi had later manipulated the photograph to claim that he was married to her.

When Priya started the clinic, Mahadi started embezzling the revenue and manipulated the ownership documents of the facility. When Nimisha Priya questioned him, he turned hostile. He also began to take money out of her monthly earnings. In her plea, Priya alleged that soon the harassment turned into physical torture. Mahdi also seized her passport. According to her plea, Priya approached the police in Sanaa. But she claimed that instead of taking action against Mahdi, the police arrested her. She was jailed for six days.

In July 2017, Priya approached the warden of a jail near her clinic. At this jail, Mahdi was previously jailed under various charges. She claimed that the warden suggested she should try to sedate him, and then ask him to give her passport. Sedation did not affect Mahdi, who was a substance abuser. But she tried sedating him again, using a stronger sedative. But he died within a few minutes due to a drug overdose.