Nimisha Priya death row: Why India may not have many options to save Kerala nurse in Yemen

Priya (38) has been imprisoned in Sana’a Central Prison since 2017.

The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that it has limited ability to intervene in the case of Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse from Kerala who is facing execution in Yemen for murder.

She is set to be executed on July 16. The Centre termed the case a “very complex issue” with few diplomatic levers available. “There’s no way we can know what’s happening (in Yemen),” Attorney General R Venkataramani told the top bench headed by Justice Sandeep Mehta.

According to Venkataramani, the Centre is in touch with Yemeni authorities, including the public prosecutor, and is trying to delay Priya’s execution while discussions continue.

The Centre also told the top court that the only viable option left to save Priya’s life is a blood money settlement, provided the family of the deceased Yemeni national is willing to accept it.

Who was Nimisha Priya?

Priya (38) has been imprisoned in Sana’a Central Prison since 2017. She moved to Yemen in 2008 in search of better work opportunities. A trained nurse, she initially worked in private hospitals before deciding to set up her medical clinic in Sana’a.

Yemeni law prohibits foreigners from owning businesses independently. However, she entered a partnership with a local man, Talal Abdo Mahdi, to register the clinic. But they soon fell out.

Mahdi allegedly seized control of the clinic and claimed 67 percent ownership. Priya also accused Mahdi of physical and sexual abuse, manipulating documents to falsely claim marriage, and taking possession of her passport, effectively restricting her movement.

In 2015, Mahdi even visited India with Priya and allegedly used that trip to alter a photograph to support his marital claim in a Yemeni court.

The situation further worsened in July 2017, when Priya, desperate to recover her passport and return to India, sought advice from a prison official who suggested sedating Mahdi. She reportedly injected him with a sedative, but he died of an overdose.

In panic, she and a fellow Yemeni nurse allegedly dismembered his body and disposed of it in a water tank. Both were arrested and in 2020, a Yemeni court sentenced Priya to death.

Priya’s mother, Prema Kumari, has travelled to Yemen to negotiate a blood money settlement.

Why can't the Centre do much?

India does not have formal diplomatic relations with the Houthis, a rebel group which controls parts of Yemen, including the capital Sana'a where Nimisha Priya is being held. The AG said India reached out to “an influential sheikh” in Yemen to persuade the authorities there.

"There's a point to which the government of India can go. We have reached that. Yemen is not like any other part of the world. We didn't want to complicate the situation by going public. We are trying at a private level, some Sheikh, influential people there, all that is being done," the Attorney General told the court.

Under Sharia law, which is practiced in Yemen, a murder conviction doesn’t always result in a mandatory execution. Instead, the law allows for a provision known as Diyah, or blood money. It enables the victim’s heirs to pardon the murderer if they choose to accept monetary compensation.

However, according to reports, the victim’s family and the Houthi authorities have refused to engage. “They say it’s a question of honour... We don’t know if it will change with more money. But as of now, standstill,” the Attorney General told the SC.

While adjourning the matter to July 18, the SC bench told all parties concerned to inform it of any developments in the interim.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act immediately. In a letter sent Sunday, Vijayan wrote, “Considering the fact that this is a case deserving sympathy, I appeal to the Hon’ble Prime Minister to take up the matter and intervene with the authorities concerned to save the life of Smt. Nimisha Priya.”

According to Hindustan Times, a last-ditch request for suspension of the execution was sent even at 10.30 am on Monday, but there was no official response yet, the SC was told.