New Delhi: Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, who has been on the death row in Yemen in a murder case, is likely to be executed on 16 July.
Priya, a native of Kerala’s Palakkad, has been lodged in the Central Prison in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, for the alleged murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017. She was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to death by a local court in 2020.
In November 2023, Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council rejected her appeal, though it left open the possibility of pardon through the payment of blood money, according to Islamic law, to the victim’s family.
The update on Priya’s likely execution on 16 July was shared by Samuel Jerome, who has the power of attorney on behalf of Priya’s mother. He has been leading efforts to secure her release through diplomatic and legal channels.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the Ministry of External Affairs has been monitoring the case since Priya’s conviction.
“Ms. Nimisha Priya was convicted for the crime of murder in Yemen in June 2018 and the local court handed out the death sentence to her. We have been closely following the matter since then. We have been in regular touch with local authorities and her family members and rendered all possible assistance. We continue to closely follow the matter,” a government source familiar with the matter said.
Priya had moved to Yemen in 2008 to support her family back home. After working at hospitals in the country, she opened her own clinic in 2015 with Mahdi as a local partner. Her family alleges that tensions arose after she confronted him over suspected financial misappropriation. According to court documents, she allegedly injected Mahdi with sedatives in an attempt to retrieve her passport from him. He died allegedly due to an overdose.
Sana’a, where Priya is imprisoned, is under the control of Houthi rebels, which has complicated both diplomatic and legal efforts to negotiate her release.
Priya’s case dates back to 2014, when she partnered with Mahdi to open a clinic in Sana’a. Under Yemeni law, foreign nationals are required to collaborate with a local partner to establish a business. That partnership, according to her family, soon turned abusive.
In 2016, Priya filed a police complaint against Mahdi, resulting in his arrest, but he was later released and allegedly continued to threaten her. According to her family, Mahdi had confiscated her passport. In an attempt to recover it and flee the country, she reportedly injected him with sedatives.
She was arrested at the airport while trying to leave Yemen and was convicted of premeditated murder in 2018. Her appeals were denied, and Yemen’s highest court upheld the sentence in 2023.
Yemen’s legal system mandates the death penalty for a range of crimes. These include murder, but also consensual same-sex relations, adultery, apostasy, and violations against the state’s perceived unity or military integrity.
One possible path to avert the execution is through diyah (blood money), which is a provision in Islamic jurisprudence that allows a victim’s family to accept financial compensation in lieu of capital punishment.
Talks with Mahdi’s family collapsed in September 2024 after Abdullah Ameer, the lawyer appointed by the Indian Embassy to mediate, demanded a $20,000 fee just to begin negotiations. According to local media reports, the Indian government paid nearly half that amount, but Ameer insisted on a total of $40,000 before resuming talks.
The Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council—a coalition of Indian politicians, diaspora leaders, and human rights activists—stepped in, crowdfunding the first installment. However, transparency concerns around the use of funds have reportedly hampered further efforts.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)