Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya’s family hopeful of last-minute pardon: ‘Can’t imagine life without her…’

Recently, the Ministry of External Affairs said it was aware of the Nimisha Priya’s sentencing and was extending all possible help in the matter

The family members of Nimisha Priya -- an Indian nurse who is in jail in Yemen and sentenced to death for the alleged murder of a Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi – are clinging to hope for a last minute pardon for her.

Priya has been imprisoned in a Yemeni jail since 2017 for the crime. Recently, Yemen's President Rashad al-Alimi approved Nimisha Priya's death sentence.

Her husband, Tomy Thomas, in a recent interaction, said he can’t imagine life without her and hoped that the victim’s family would accept blood money in return for pardon.

“We haven't slept since the presidential order. We continue to pray. We are told the death sentence will be executed within a month of the president's sanction...Can't imagine life without her (Nimisha),” he was quoted as saying by Times of India.

Priya's mother, Prema Kumari, currently in Yemen's capital Sanaa, too has made an emotional appeal to the Indian government and the public to save her daughter’s life. In a video message from Yemen, Prema Kumari urged the Centre and other authorities to intervene urgently.

Tomy, during the interaction with TOI, revealed that he had a word with his wife two days prior to the presidential sanction of her death sentence. “During our brief conversation over the phone, Nimisha was optimistic and talked about reuniting with us - our daughter Michele, my mother-in-law Prema Kumari, and I,” he said.

A daily wage labourer and driver, Thomas described his wife as gentle, warm and incapable of harming anyone.

Nimisha joined hands with Mahdi to set up her clinic in Yemen’s capital city Sana. She sought his support as under Yemen’s law, only nationals are allowed to set up clinics and business firms. Tensions arose between her and Mahdi, with Priya alleging abuse, torture, and the confiscation of her passport, effectively stranding her in Yemen.

Reports indicate that Mahdi falsely presented himself as her husband to Yemeni authorities, hindering her ability to seek assistance from them.

With an aim to get her passport which was confiscated by Talal Abdo Mahdi back, she allegedly injected him with sedatives. However, sedation did not affect Mahdi, who was a substance abuser. She tried sedating him again, using a stronger sedative in order to retrieve her passport but he died within a few minutes due to a drug overdose.

Recently, the Ministry of External Affairs said it was aware of the Nimisha Priya’s sentencing and was extending all possible help in the matter. “We understand that the family of Ms Priya is exploring relevant options. The government is extending all possible help in the matter,” MEA added.

A senior Iranian official, too, offered to help and said Iran will do whatever it can in the case of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya. "We will take up the issue. She seems to have been charged with manslaughter. We will do whatever we can in the case on humanitarian grounds," the Iranian official told a group of journalists in Delhi.