Congress seeks PM Modi’s intervention to save Nimisha Priya from execution in Yemen
The Congress on Saturday sought intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the death sentence of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen is cancelled. Priya, who hails from Kerala, will be executed on July 16, after being convicted for the murder of a Yemeni national.
In a letter written to PM Modi, Congress general secretary (organisation) and Kerala MP KC Venugopal said, “I am writing to seek your immediate intervention concerning Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse from Kerala sentenced to death in Yemen on July 16, 2025.”
He stated, “While efforts have been made by the Action Council and Priya’s family to negotiate with the victim’s family for ‘blood money’ (diyah), which could potentially spare her life, these negotiations have faced significant challenges, due to Yemen’s ongoing civil war and other internal disturbances.”
“Given the complexity of the situation, I request you to intervene in this matter with utmost priority, employing all possible diplomatic measures with Yemeni authorities and ensure that the death sentence be cancelled,” the letter read.
Sharing the letter on X, Venugopal said the death sentence against Priya is a “grave travesty of justice”.
“She is a victim of unimaginable cruelty and domestic abuse on foreign soil, driven to the brink. She doesn’t deserve to die,” he said.
Priya, who hails from Kollengode town in Palakkad, moved to Yemen in 2011. There, she met Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national, who later helped her set up a clinic in Yemen’s capital Sanaa. The country’s law states that foreigners can only start their business in the country if they are married to locals.
Her death sentence was approved by Yemen’s President on December 30, last year.
Her husband and minor daughter returned to India in 2014 because of financial reasons. The same year, Yemen was engulfed in civil war, cutting off new visa issuance and leaving Priya stranded.
In 2017, Priya was accused of murdering Mahdi, which she claimed was an act of self-defence. She alleged Mahdi had harassed her for money, seized her passport, forged documents to pose as her husband and subjected her to physical and emotional abuse.
In 2018, she was sentenced to death by a trial court in Yemen. Since then, her family has been fighting for her release. They approached the Yemini Supreme Court against the trial court’s order, but their appeal was rejected in 2023.
Following Yemen’s President also rejecting Priya’s appeal, her release depends on securing the forgiveness of the victim’s family and their tribal leaders.
Yemeni media stated Priya killed Mahdi with the help of another person and chopped his body into pieces before dumping it into a water tank at her house. She was arrested while attempting to flee the country and was convicted in 2018. There have been vociferous attempts to save Priya.
Her family and advocacy groups within the country have been working to save her life. Her mother, Prema Kumari, has been in Sanaa to negotiate with Mahdi’s family to secure forgiveness in exchange for “blood money.”
As per Yemen’s rule of law, the death penalty could only be nullified if the victim’s family agrees to pardon the culprit, often in exchange for blood money. However, the negotiations hit a roadblock in September this year as Abdullah Ameer, the Indian Embassy appointed lawyer, raised a pre-negotiation fee of nearly Rs 17,12,000 ($20,000), which he later doubled to nearly Rs 34,24,000 lakh. Later, part of the crowdfunds raised by ‘Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council’ were used to settle the first installment of nearly Rs 17,12,000 lakh ($20,000).
However, disagreements over fund transparency raised further complications.
India