What Option Does Kerala Nurse On Death Row In Yemen Have? Lawyer Tells NDTV

Nimisha Priya, the Indian nurse sentenced to death for the murder of a Yemeni national, still has legal options to save her life if the victim’s family pardons her and accepts blood money, said Subhas Chandran, her family’s lawyer. Yemen President Rashad al-Alimi on Monday approved Priya’s death sentence, and she can be executed in a month’s time. She was found guilty of killing Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national, in 2017. 

Speaking to NDTV, Mr Chandran noted that in Yemen, Sharia law prevails, under which if the victim’s family is ready to pardon the accused after taking diya money (blood money), the death panel can be reversed. 

“We spoke to some legal experts there (Yemen) and understood that after the Supreme Judicial Council’s order, getting an assent from the President is the formal procedure. Still, if the family is ready to accept the diya money and pardon her, her life will be saved,” he said. 

Mr Chandran, however, noted that due to the prevailing political situation in Yemen, negotiations with the Mahdi’s family are being hindered. Yemen has been facing a civil since 2014 when Houthi insurgents took over the capital city Sanaa, which was followed by a rapid Houthi takeover of the government.

“We are facing a challenge in this due to the prevailing political situation in Yemen. We are unable to travel to Yemen, and we need the government’s support for that. If the Union government helps us with negations, the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council is ready to pay whatever amount the family asks as diya money,” he added. 

Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)said that India was aware of the sentencing of Nimisha Priya in Yemen and extended all support to the family.

“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 in a statement.

Nimisha Priya Case

Priya was found guilty of killing Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national, in 2017. A year later, she was sentenced to death by a trial court in Yemen. Since then, her family has been fighting for her release. They approached the Yemini Supreme Court against the trial court’s order, but their appeal was rejected in 2023. Now, with the country’s President also rejecting Priya’s appeal, her release depended on securing forgiveness from the victim’s family and their tribal leaders.

A native of Palakkad, Priya is a trained nurse who worked in private hospitals in Yemen for a few years. Her husband and minor daughter returned to India in 2014 because of financial reasons. The same year, Yemen was gripped by civil war, and they could not go back, as the country stopped issuing new visas.

Later in 2015, Priya sought Mahdi’s support to set up her clinic in Sana’a, as under Yemen’s law, only nationals are allowed to set up clinics and business firms.

Per her appeal plea in Yemani Supreme Court, in 2015, Mahdi accompanied Priya to Kerala when she came for a month-long holiday. During the visit, he stole her wedding photograph, which he later manipulated to claim that he was married to her.

Upon their return, when Priya started the clinic, Mahadi started cornering all the revenue. He also manipulated the ownership documents of the clinic. When Nimisha Priya questioned him about the embezzlement, he became hostile towards her.

He also began to take money out of her monthly earnings after telling everyone that Priya was his wife and even morphed their pictures to show they were married. In her plea, Priya alleged that soon the harassment turned into physical torture and Mahdi also seized her passport.

According to her plea, Priya even approached the police in Sanaa regarding the matter, but instead of taking action against Mahdi, the police arrested her and put her in jail for six days.

In July 2017, Priya approached the warden of a jail near her clinic, where Mahdi was previously jailed under various charges.

The warden suggested that she should try to sedate him, and then convince him to give her passport. However, sedation did not affect Mahdi, who was a substance abuser. She tried sedating him again, using a stronger sedative to retrieve her passport but he died within a few minutes due to a drug overdose.