‘Nothing Much Govt Can Do’: Centre On Kerala Nurse Nimisha Priya’s Execution In Yemen | India News
New Delhi: The Union Government informed the Supreme Court on Monday that it has limited options left to intervene in the case of Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, who is set to be executed in Yemen on July 16. The Centre underlined that while it is doing everything it can behind the scenes, the ongoing “blood money” negotiations by Priya’s family remain a private matter.
“There’s a point till which the Government of India can go. We have reached that”, Attorney General for India R Venkataramani, representing the Centre, told the Supreme Court today. He added that there is nothing much the government could do in the matter.
Due to the diplomatic sensitivities involving Yemen, especially in Houthi-controlled Sanaa, the Attorney General clarified that the government’s role is severely limited.
“Looking at the sensitivity of Yemen, it’s not diplomatically recognised. Blood money is a private negotiation,” he said.
Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Palakkad district in Kerala, was convicted in 2018 for the murder of Talal Abdo Mehdi, a Yemeni national and her former business partner. According to the prosecution, she drugged him with the help of another nurse and later dismembered his body, disposing of it in an underground tank.
Despite challenging the charges in Yemeni courts, all her appeals have been dismissed. She was retried in 2020, and the same death sentence was upheld. In 2023, the Supreme Judicial Council of Yemen rejected her final appeal, and the following year, the Yemeni President approved her execution.
Her supporters have claimed that Talal had forged documents to show Nimisha as his wife, and had confiscated her passport, allegedly subjecting her to physical and mental abuse. In 2017, to reclaim her passport, she reportedly injected him with sedatives, which resulted in his death.
Since the incident occurred in Sanaa, which is under Houthi rebel control, there has been no diplomatic breakthrough so far.
“Yemen is not like any other part of the world. We didn’t want to complicate the situation by going public. We are trying at a private level, some Sheikh, influential people there, all that is being done,” the Attorney General told the court.
The petitioner’s legal team, formed by Priya’s family and supporters, recently approached the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Union Government to intervene through diplomatic efforts.
Under Shariat law, execution can be avoided if the victim’s family accepts “blood money”, a form of financial compensation. Priya’s family has reportedly offered $1 million (around Rs 8.6 crore) to Talal’s family in exchange for a pardon.
However, reports suggest that Talal’s family has refused to accept the offer, which appears to be the only viable path left to halt the execution.
In a last-ditch effort, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, appealing for intervention to save Priya.
In his letter, the CM said the case “deserves sympathy”. He had also addressed a similar appeal to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in March.
Earlier, Priya’s mother had approached the Delhi High Court, seeking permission to travel to Yemen to negotiate with Talal’s family directly, despite a government ban on travel to the country. In November 2023, the Centre informed the High Court that Yemen’s highest court had rejected her appeal. The High Court then directed the government to consider the mother’s representation.
