India assures support for Kerala's Nimisha Priya sentenced to death in Yemen

New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) India on Tuesday announced that it is providing "all possible help" to Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who has been sentenced to death in Yemen for the murder of a Yemeni national.

In a statement, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We are aware of the sentencing of Ms. Nimisha Priya in Yemen. We understand that the family of Ms Priya is exploring relevant options. The government is extending all possible help in the matter."

The statement follows the recent approval of Nimisha Priya's death sentence by Yemen's President Rashad al-Alimi. Reports indicate that the execution could take place within a month, leaving the family in shock and racing against time to save her.

Nimisha's mother, Prema Kumari, 57, has been making relentless efforts to secure a waiver of the death penalty. Earlier this year, she travelled to Sanaa, Yemen's capital, to negotiate the payment of diya (blood money) to the victim's family with the assistance of the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, an organisation of NRI social workers based in Yemen.

Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kollengode in Kerala's Palakkad district, had moved to Yemen in 2008 to support her daily-wage labourer parents. She worked in several hospitals and eventually decided to open her own clinic. In 2017, a dispute arose between her and her Yemeni business partner, Talal Abdo Mahdi, after she reportedly opposed his alleged attempts to misappropriate funds.

According to her family, Nimisha allegedly injected Mahdi with sedatives to retrieve her confiscated passport. Tragically, an overdose led to his death. She was arrested while attempting to flee the country and was convicted of murder in 2018.

In 2020, a trial court in Sanaa sentenced her to death, and Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council upheld the verdict in November 2023, though it left open the option of blood money.

The case has drawn widespread attention and raised concerns over the fate of Indian nationals abroad as the family and supporters continue their efforts to save Nimisha Priya from the death penalty.