Lodged in a prison in Yemen since 2020, 32-year-old Nimisha Priya is counting days to her execution. Nimisha has been sentenced to death for the murder of a Yemeni national, Talal Abdo Mahdi, who died in July 2017 after Nimisha injected him with sedatives to get her passport that was in his possession. Nimisha had alleged abuse and torture by Talal and this was her last resort to get back to her family living in Kerala. Now, sentenced to death, Nimisha has run out of options after the courts in Yemen dismissed her appeals. 

Nimisha in 2020 had filed an appeal against the death penalty in a court in the Yemen capital Sana’a. However, the court has upheld the death sentence, which means Nimisha is to be executed for the crime. A native of Kerala, Nimisha, who had been running a clinic in Yemen since 2015, had accused the deceased Yemeni national Talal of torturing her for two years. Nimisha had said that she had not meant to kill him, and that she wanted access to her passport while he was sedated. 

Though she appealed against the death penalty, it was rejected, and she has the option to appeal before the Supreme Court, but Nimisha is unlikely to be spared and therefore, her only hope to come out of death sentence is if the victim's family accepts blood money. So, with the court in Yemen rejecting her appeal, and a similar verdict expected from the country’s supreme court, the only way for Nimisha to escape from the death penalty is to gain pardon from the family of the deceased — by paying blood money to the family in accordance with the law of land. Under the Shariat law, the legal heir of the deceased can be compensated and in turn, the death sentence can be commuted.

Now, an organisation back home in India has launched a campaign — Save Nimisha Priya — to help her family obtain a pardon. Those fighting for Nimisha’s release want government involvement at three levels. Firstly, they want the government’s help with blood money negotiation with Talal’s tribe and in turn his family, secondly if the blood money is agreed upon, then help with transferring the money to Yemen. Thirdly, they want the government to ensure that the money reaches the right hands. The Indian government has, however, made it clear that they will not be involved with  blood money negotiations. Sources TNM spoke to said that there have been instances in the past where Indian embassies have been involved indirectly in such negotiations and have also roped in private individuals to help. “That’s all we are expecting here too, some commitment from India that it will help — directly or indirectly,” a source said.

A petition has also been filed in the Delhi High Court urging the Union government to intervene and help Nimisha. The petition said Nimisha Priya is an Indian nurse working in Yemen and she was convicted in 2020 for the murder of the Yemini national. It said Priya was accused of murdering Talal Abdo Mahdi who died in July 2017 after she injected him with sedatives to get her passport that was in his possession. It said she injected him with sedatives so that she could take her passport from him while he was unconscious. However, he died of an overdose.

Nimisha’s family back home is struggling. Her husband currently works as an auto rickshaw driver, her nine-year-old daughter is currently living in an orphanage and her mother is a domestic help in Kerala. The entire family is facing serious challenges to deal with the ongoing legal processes there, the plea added.

The Delhi High Court sought the stand of the Union government on the payment of blood money to Talal’s family. The court said that it cannot ask the government of India to countenance such a payment, but requested authorities to facilitate appropriate legal action against the conviction of the woman. Currently, it is difficult to travel to war-torn Yemen, and the Union government has been asked to facilitate travel to Yemen. The court asked the government to take a call, and Union government’s counsel Anurag Alhuwalia said that they will take proactive steps to appeal against her execution. The government also said that it will help Nimisha’s family members travel to Yemen to initiate the process of negotiations of blood money. Ahluwalia added that the Union government is providing miscellaneous amounts to Nimisha for her daily expenses inside the foreign prison, but it will not be involved in the negotiation process.

To help save Nimisha Priya, you can contribute to the crowdfund set up for her. Details below:

CONTACT EMAIL: savenimisha@gmail.com
BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS:
ACCOUNT NAME: SAVE NIMISHAPRIYA INTERNATIONAL ACTION COUNCIL
AC NO: 00000040847370877
STATE BANK OF INDIA