Team News Riveting
Kochi, July 8
Nimisha Priya, Malayali nurse convicted of murdering a Yemeni citizen, will be executed in Yemen on July 16.
Asianet News reported that Samuel John, who is mediating discussions in Yemen on behalf of various humanitarian groups, said that the Indian Embassy had confirmed the execution order. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) sources informed that the it is closely following the matter. “We have been in touch with local authorities and her family members and rendered all possible assistance. We continue to closely follow the matter,” sources said.
Yemen’s president Rashad Al-Alimi had approved death sentence of Nimisha, who hails from Kollengode town in Kerala’s Palakkad, on December 30, 2024.
Nimisha is married and mother of a girl child. She moved to Yemen in 2011 where she met Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi. Her husband and daughter returned to India in 2014 due to financial reasons.
The same year, Yemen was engulfed in civil war, and Priya could not come back, as the country stopped issuing new visas. Mahdi is said to have helped Priya set up a clinic in Yemen’s capital Sanaa. The country’s law states that foreigners can only start their business there if they have any local as a partner.
In 2017, Priya was found guilty of murdering Mahdi. Nimisha claimed it was an act of self-defence as Mahdi had been harassing her for money and had seized her passport. She said that he forged her documents and claimed to be her husband while subjecting her to physical and emotional abuse.
Nimisha’s representatives offered “blood money” compensation, but the victim’s family hasn’t accepted. The Indian government has provided financial and legal support, including facilitating discussions between the families. All eyes are now on whether the family of the victim, who was killed, will accept the blood money.
Blood money is a legal or traditional compensation paid by a perpetrator (or their family) to the family of a victim, typically in cases of murder or accidental death. It’s rooted in Islamic law (Sharia) and customary practices in several countries, especially in the Middle East, including Yemen, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Iran. This does not mean that the person will be acquitted, but it is only to save the convict from death.
Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh confirmed that, as per the request of Nimisha Priya’s family, $40,000 was transferred to the victim’s family through the Ministry of External Affairs’ official account. Discussions between the two families are ongoing to determine the next course of action. The Indian government has also facilitated travel arrangements for Nimisha Priya’s mother to Yemen, authorized a power of attorney for negotiations, and ensured legal assistance using ministry funds.
According to The News Minute, Save Nimisha Priya Action Council, on behalf of Nimisha Priya, had offered to pay USD 1 million or Rs 8.5 crore. However, the family of the victim has not yet communicated the amount they expect to be paid or whether they are willing to accept the money.
Reports said the Director General of Prosecution has reportedly informed the jailer at the prison Nimisha is lodged in to conduct the execution.
