'There's Nothing Much Govt Can Do': Centre Tells SC On Plea Over Kerala Nurse Nimisha Priya's Death Sentence In Yemen
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday heard a plea seeking directions to the Indian government to intervene and save Nimisha Priya, an Indian national facing the death penalty in a murder case in Yemen, through diplomatic negotiations. Attorney General for India (AGI) R Venkataramani told the top court that there was a point till when the government could go and that point had been reached.
The plea was heard by Justices Vikram Seth and Sandeep Mehta. The plea was filed by an organisation called "Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council". The petitioner urged that the Centre can assist in the 'blood money' negotiations through diplomatic channels.
Notably, on July 13, the nurse's family and supporters offered USD one million as 'blood money' to the victim's family under Yemen’s Sharia law, so that Priya could be pardoned.
"There's nothing much govt can do...looking at sensitivity of Yemen...it's not diplomatically recognised...blood money is a private negotiation...There's a point till which the government of India can go," Venkataramani told the apex court as reported by Live Law. He also highlighted that India has "complex" diplomatic relations with Yemen and not like other countries.
When the petitioner urged the court that the death sentence should not happen, the Supreme Court bench expressed its inability to pass an order with respect to a foreign country.
On Sunday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to intervene in the matter related to Priya's death sentence in Yemen. The 37-year-old is scheduled to be executed on July 16. The trial court convicted her of killing the Yemeni national, a decision that the country's Supreme Judicial Council upheld in November 2023.
Who Is Nimisha Priya?
Priya is a trained nurse and has worked in private hospitals in Yemen for a few years. She moved to Yemen in 2008 for better opportunities. In 2011, she married Tomy Thomas, a native of Idukki. The couple settled in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, where they had a daughter.
Later, they decided to establish their own medical clinic. Her husband and minor daughter returned to India in 2014 because of financial reasons, and in that same year, Yemen was gripped by civil war, and they could not go back as the country stopped issuing new visas.
Later in 2015, Nimisha in partnership with a Yemeni citizen, Talal Abdo Mahdi to set up her clinic in Sana. She sought Mahdi's support because, under Yemen's law, only nationals are allowed to set up clinics and business firms. In 2015, Mahdi accompanied Nimisha Priya to Kerala when she came for a month-long holiday. During the visit, he stole a wedding photograph of Nimisha, which he later manipulated to claim that he was married to her.
The partnership deteriorated quickly. Nimisha was reportedly pressured into signing a deal granting 67 per cent ownership to Talal Abdo Mahdi and 33 per cent to her former employer. Once the clinic became profitable, Talal allegedly stopped sharing the earnings and took complete control. Priya's family claimed that when she confronted him, Talal became physically and verbally abusive.
The abuse extended beyond finances. Nimisha alleged that Talal physically and sexually assaulted her on several occasions. He reportedly confiscated her passport to restrict her movements and manipulated a wedding photograph to falsely claim they were married in court. He was jailed multiple times following Nimisha’s complaints.
In July 2017, Nimisha visited Talal in jail once more to retrieve her passport. A prison official allegedly suggested she sedate him to get it back. She injected him with sedatives, but he died of an overdose. She reportedly sought help from a fellow Yemeni nurse, who allegedly advised dismembering the body and disposing of it in a water tank. Both went into hiding but were later arrested. In 2020, a Yemeni lower court sentenced Nimisha to death.
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