Nurse on death row in Yemen: Kerala politicians seek PM’s help as Nimisha’s family, village hold on to hope

As anxiety deepens over the fate of Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala sentenced to death in Yemen, ambiguity remains regarding whether her execution is scheduled for July 16. Despite several media outlets claiming a date has been fixed, there has been no official communication from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) or the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

A New Indian Express report stated that the news of the execution date stemmed from a statement by Indian national Samuel Jerome Bhaskaran, who has been involved in backchannel efforts. Bhaskaran claimed that the chairman of the Central Prison in Sana’a informed him over the phone that the execution order had been issued. He further asserted that a Yemeni national connected to the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia had personally confirmed the information.

However, the Save Nimisha Priya Action Council told TNIE they have not received any official confirmation from Yemen, the Indian Embassy, or the MEA. The Council also distanced itself from Bhaskaran and raised concerns regarding the handling of $40,000 raised through public donations. Bhaskaran clarified that the funds were directly transferred to a lawyer appointed by the Indian Embassy but admitted he was never an official member of the Council.

Members of Parliament John Brittas and K Radhakrishnan, along with Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, have written to the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister, urging immediate diplomatic steps.

Family hopes for last-minute intervention

According to a Times of India report, the looming threat of execution has left Nimisha’s family and village in emotional turmoil. Her childhood friend Vinitha Radhakrishnan told TOI that people in Poonkayam village, Palakkad, cannot accept that Nimisha could have committed such a crime.

Her husband Tomy, a daily-wage worker in Idukki, said he has tried every possible route to save her. Their daughter Michele, now 12, lives in a school hostel and speaks to Nimisha occasionally through prison phone calls. Nimisha’s mother is in Yemen, trying to negotiate a settlement by offering “blood money” to the victim’s family — a provision allowed under Yemeni law.

The TOI report also mentions that activist Samuel Jerome is expected to reach Sana’a this week to make a final attempt at seeking a pardon.

How the case unfolded

Nimisha Priya moved to Yemen in 2008 to support her family of daily wage labourers in Palakkad. After working as a nurse in private hospitals, she opened her own clinic in 2015 with local businessman Talal Abdo Mehdi. According to her family and legal team, the partnership turned abusive. Mehdi allegedly misused clinic funds, confiscated her passport, and harassed her for months.

In a desperate attempt to retrieve her passport and flee, she reportedly injected Mehdi with sedatives, which unintentionally caused his death. Arrested in 2017, she was sentenced to death by a trial court in Sana’a. Her final appeal failed in 2023. Since then, the Save Nimisha Priya Action Council has been trying to save her through legal and diplomatic channels, including the Yemeni provision of blood money (diya).