Kerala nurse's life hangs in balance in Yemen: Know Nimisha Priya's case

Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, has been in jail in Yemen since 2017 after being convicted of murdering a Yemeni national. She now faces the death penalty, with reports suggesting the execution is scheduled for July 16. However, her family in India says they have received no official confirmation about the date.

Nimisha had gone to Yemen in 2008 to work as a nurse and support her family. In 2015, she opened a clinic there with a local man named Talal Abdo Mahdi, since Yemeni law requires a native partner for such businesses. Over time, their relationship soured. According to Nimisha’s version of events, Mahdi became abusive, confiscated her passport, and restricted her movement.

In 2017, she reportedly tried to sedate him in order to retrieve her passport and escape the country. However, the plan went horribly wrong when Mahdi died from the overdose, and she was later accused of trying to dispose of his body with the help of another person. She was arrested, and in 2020 a trial court sentenced her to death. Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council upheld the sentence in 2023.

Now, her only hope lies in Yemen’s “diyya” law — a provision that allows the victim’s family to pardon the accused in exchange for blood money. Activists and a support group called the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council have been trying to negotiate with Mahdi’s family to secure her release, but so far, no deal has been reached.

Amid reports from a social worker that Yemen’s public prosecutor has issued an execution order for July 16, Nimisha’s family in India says they have not been officially informed. “We have not received any official communication so far. We only came to know about it through news reports,” her husband, Tomy Thomas, told PTI.

The family is under severe financial stress. Thomas, who works as a daily wage labourer and driver, said he had to send their daughter — now a seventh-grade student — to a hostel as they could not afford to care for her at home. He also revealed that they are burdened with a debt of ₹60 lakh, which they had taken in 2015 to set up the clinic in Yemen. That clinic was shut down in 2017 when Nimisha was arrested.

Meanwhile, the Indian government has said it is in touch with Yemeni authorities through diplomatic channels and is continuing efforts to find a resolution.