Nimisha Priya, a Keralan nurse who was given the death penalty in Yemen, will receive “all possible help,” the ministry of external affairs (MEA) announced Tuesday. Rashad al-Alimi, the president of Yemen, confirmed her death sentence on Monday for the 2017 murder of Talal Abdo Mehdi, a Yemeni man.
In 2020, Nimisha Priya received a death sentence after being apprehended while trying to leave the country. In November 2023, Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council denied her appeal. “We are aware of Ms. Nimisha Priya’s sentencing in Yemen,” noted Randhir Jaiswal, a spokeswoman for the MEA.
“We understand that Priya’s family is exploring relevant options, and the government is extending all possible assistance in the matter,” he stated.
Born in Kollengode in the Palakkad region of Kerala, Nimisha Priya emigrated to Yemen in 2008 and wed Tomy Thomas in Kerala in 2011. According to Yemeni law, they must have a local partner in order to start their own clinic. A frequent visitor to the clinic where Nimisha Priya works, Talal Abdo Mahdi, begged him for assistance in the situation, and he complied.
The civil war that started in 2014 kept her husband and children in Kerala, but Nimisha Priya was able to return to Yemen. Mahdi reportedly refused to give Nimisha Priya any of the profits from his new clinic in Yemen. Additionally, it has been reported that he physically and sexually assaulted her and falsified documents to show her as his wife.
Eventually, Nimisha Priya started sedating him, which resulted in a drug overdose that killed the man. According to The Indian Express, a victim of a crime or their family may decide to pardon the offender in exchange for financial restitution under Sharia law.
This “blood money,” also known as “diyya,” secures the freedom of the criminal by pardoning them. A payment of $40,000 was paid in November 2023 to initiate discussions on Nimisha Priya’s behalf. According to The Indian Express, her family would probably have to pay over $400,000 more to avoid the death punishment.
The “Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council,” which was established in 2020, is presently working to raise the money needed to ensure her release. According to Supreme Court attorney Subhash Chandran KR, who represented Priya’s mother Prema Kumari at the Delhi high court, the Indian government’s involvement in the case will help postpone the death sentence’s execution and engage the victim’s family in negotiations.
“Mahdi’s family can still be contacted in order to gain Priya’s release and persuade them to forgive her, perhaps in exchange for blood money. Finding the tribal chiefs and the victim’s family and bringing them to the table for negotiations are tasks that the Indian government can assist with. The financial arrangements for the blood money will be handled by the council (SNPIAC),” Chandran stated.