Indian Nurse Facing Death Sentence in Yemen: High Stakes in Plea for Mercy
The Delhi High Court has received distressing news regarding the fate of Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse sentenced to death in Yemen. The Indian government informed the court that the Supreme Court of Yemen, on November 13, dismissed the appeal filed by Priya against her death sentence for the murder of Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national.
The grim decision now rests with the President of Yemen, heightening the urgency surrounding the case. Nimisha Priya’s mother, desperate to save her daughter from execution, has filed a writ petition seeking permission to travel to Yemen and negotiate with the victim’s family by offering “blood money” – a compensation paid by the offender or their kin to the family of the victim.
Nimisha Priya’s conviction stems from the alleged murder of Talal Abdo Mahdi in July 2017. Reportedly, Priya injected Mahdi with sedatives in an attempt to retrieve her passport from his possession. Tragically, Mahdi succumbed to an overdose, leading to Priya’s capital punishment in 2018. Her colleague, Hanan, a Yemeni national involved in the crime, received a life sentence.
The petitioner’s plea to the Delhi High Court emphasizes the necessity of negotiating blood money to spare Nimisha Priya’s life. The travel ban for Indian nationals to Yemen has posed a significant obstacle to this plea. However, recent notifications suggest a potential relaxation of the travel ban, allowing Indian nationals to travel to Yemen for specific reasons and durations.
Nimisha Priya, a mother of an eight-year-old child, had been working in Yemen’s Sana’a since 2011. The “Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council” previously approached the high court, urging diplomatic interventions and negotiations with the victim’s family to save Priya’s life.
In response, the court had declined to direct the Centre to negotiate blood money but urged the pursuit of legal remedies against the conviction in Yemen. The complexity of the case lies in allegations that Mahdi had forged documents claiming marriage to Priya and subjected her to abuse and torture. Further Delhi High Court awaits the government’s decision on the mother’s travel request.
Re-reported from the article originally published in The Hindustan Times
