An urgent plea filed Today (July 10) in the Supreme Court to stop the July 16 execution of Malayali nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen. The petitioner wants the Indian government to step in and negotiate under Sharia law.
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NEW DELHI: A very serious and emotional case has reached the Supreme Court of India. A plea has been filed asking the Indian government to take urgent diplomatic steps to stop the execution of Nimisha Priya, a 37-year-old Indian nurse from Kerala, who is currently on death row in Yemen.
She is scheduled to be hanged on July 16, 2025, for allegedly killing a Yemeni man.
Nimisha was accused of murdering Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017. According to reports, she gave him sedative injections in an attempt to take back her passport, which he had kept with him. Unfortunately, the man died due to the sedatives, and Nimisha was arrested and later sentenced to death under Yemeni Sharia law.
The case was urgently mentioned in the Supreme Court of India. The lawyer appearing for the petitioner told the court,
“She is a 37 year old lady. Sentence to death in Yemen under Sharia Law. Sentence can be condoned if the family forgives. If the union can intervene..”
This means that under Yemen’s Sharia law, if the victim’s family forgives her and accepts “blood money”, then the death sentence can be cancelled.
The lawyer further told the court,
“I am an Indian citizen..”
emphasizing that the case involves an Indian national and needs the support of the Indian government to initiate diplomatic negotiations.
The bench, comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, responded by asking,
“What did you do?”
referring to any prior steps taken by the petitioner.
After hearing the matter briefly, the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case and said,
“We can list on July 14”.
This means the court will officially hear and consider the plea on July 14, just two days before the scheduled execution date.
The plea has requested that the Union Government of India urgently reach out to Yemen’s authorities to negotiate for forgiveness and the payment of “blood money”, which is legally allowed under Yemen’s Sharia system.
Nimisha Priya’s Background
Early Life and Education
- Born on 1 January 1989 in Kollengode, Palakkad district, Kerala to daily-wage labourer parents. A local church supported her nursing training after she couldn’t complete school exams.
Move to Yemen
- Moved to Yemen in 2008 to work as a nurse in government hospitals in Sana’a. In 2011, her husband and daughter returned to India due to financial strain and civil unrest, while she stayed behind.
Opening Clinic and Partnership
- In early 2015, she co-founded Al Aman Medical Clinic, a 14-bed facility, in partnership with Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi, as required by local law.
- Later, tensions rose: Mahdi allegedly stole funds, seized her passport, and physically and psychologically abused her.
2017 Incident and Arrest
- In July 2017, struggling to retrieve her passport, she allegedly injected Mahdi with sedatives; the overdose proved fatal. She then, with another nurse, dismembered his body and disposed of it in a water tank
- Nimisha was arrested in August 2017 near the Saudi border
Trial and Death Sentence
- Convicted of murder in 2018, she was sentenced to death under Yemeni Sharia law. Appeals were rejected by a retrial in 2020 and again by the Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023
- In December 2024, Yemen’s President Rashad al-Alimi approved the execution order, originally set for January but now confirmed for 16 July 2025
Family Visit and Diplomatic Efforts
- In April 2024, her mother Prema Kumari visited Yemen, meeting Nimisha at Sana’a prison and initiating negotiations with tribal elders
- Activists and her action council have offered blood money (diyat), pledging up to USD 1 million (Rs 8–8.6 crore), but the victim’s family has not yet accepted
- Negotiations have involved Indian officials, Houthi authorities via Iran, and activists like Samuel Jerome Baskaran.
Current Status
- Nimisha remains in central prison, Sana’a, under Houthi control. With her execution set for 16 July 2025, there is intense pressure on the Government of India to secure a last-minute pardon or blood-money settlement
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