Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, on death row for killing a Yemeni national, still has legal options to save her life if the victim’s family forgives her and accepts the blood money, says her family’s lawyer Subhash. Chandran said. Yemen’s President Rashad al-Alimi approved Priya’s death sentence on Monday, and she is expected to be executed in a month’s time. He was found guilty of the murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017.
Speaking to NDTV, Mr Chandran said that in Yemen, Sharia law is in force, under which death sentences are overturned if the victim’s family is willing to forgive the accused after taking diya money (blood money). May go.
“We spoke to some legal experts there (Yemen) and understood that after the order of the Supreme Judicial Council, getting consent from the President is a formal process. However, if the family is ready to accept Dia’s money and forgive her , his life will be in danger,” he said.
However, Mr Chandran said talks with Mahdi’s family were being hampered due to the current political situation in Yemen. Yemen has been experiencing civil conflict since 2014, when Houthi rebels captured the capital, Sanaa, following which the Houthis quickly took over the government.
“We are facing a challenge in this due to the current political situation in Yemen. We are unable to travel to Yemen, and for this we need the support of the government. If the central government helps us, Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council is ready to give whatever amount the family asks for in the form of Diya Money.”
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that India was aware of Nimisha Priya’s sentencing in Yemen and extended full support to the family.
“We understand that Priya’s family is exploring relevant options. The government is providing all possible assistance in this matter,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.
nimisha priya case
Priya was found guilty of the murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017. A year later, he was sentenced to death by a trial court in Yemen. Since then his family has been fighting for his release. He approached the Yemini Supreme Court against the trial court order, but his appeal was rejected in 2023. Now, the country’s president has also rejected Priya’s appeal, with her release contingent on securing an apology from the victim’s family and their tribal leaders.
Priya, a native of Palakkad, is a trained nurse who worked in private hospitals in Yemen for a few years. Her husband and minor daughter returned to India in 2014 due to financial reasons. That same year, Yemen fell into civil war and they could not return, as the country stopped issuing new visas.
Later in 2015, Priya sought Mahdi’s support to set up her own clinic in Sanaa, because under Yemeni law, only citizens are allowed to set up clinics and business firms.
According to her appeal petition in the Yemeni Supreme Court, in 2015, Mahdi accompanied Priya to Kerala when she came for a month’s vacation. During the trip, he steals her wedding photograph, which he later manipulates to claim that he married her.
Upon their return, when Priya starts the clinic, Mahadi starts usurping all the revenue. They also manipulated the ownership documents of the clinic. When Nimisha Priya questions him about the embezzlement he becomes hostile towards her.
He started withdrawing money from Priya’s monthly earnings after telling everyone that she was his wife and even altered their photographs to show that they were married. Priya alleged in her petition that the harassment soon turned into physical torture and Mehdi even confiscated her passport.
According to her petition, Priya also approached the police in Sanaa regarding the matter, but instead of taking action against Mahdi, the police arrested him and put him in jail for six days.
In July 2017, Priya contacted the warden of a prison near her clinic, where Mahdi was previously jailed under various charges.
The warden suggested that he should try to render him unconscious and then convince him to give up his passport. However, the anesthetic had no effect on Mahdi, who was a drug user. She tried to sedate him again using a strong sedative to get his passport back, but he died within minutes of a drug overdose.
