MEA Provides Assistance to Kerala Nurse Facing Death Sentence in Yemen
New Delhi/Sana’a, 31st December 2024: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Tuesday that it is providing “all possible assistance” to Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, following Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi’s approval of her death sentence for the alleged murder of a Yemeni citizen.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, “We know Ms Nimisha Priya’s sentencing in Yemen. The family is reportedly exploring relevant legal options.” He further emphasized that the government is offering every possible support in this matter.
Nimisha Priya, accused of killing Yemeni citizen Talal Abdo Mehdi in 2017, was charged with administering sedatives to him in an attempt to retrieve her passport, which was allegedly in his possession. A lower court sentenced her to death in 2020, and the Supreme Court of Yemen upheld the decision in November this year.
The nurse had lived in Yemen for over a decade, working in private hospitals. Due to financial constraints, her husband and daughter returned to India, and Priya established her clinic in Yemen with support from Mehdi.
In 2015, Mehdi accompanied Priya on a month-long trip to Kerala, where he reportedly took a wedding photograph of her with her husband and altered it to claim he was married to her. According to a plea by Priya’s mother, Mehdi allegedly tortured the nurse for years, seized her passport to prevent her from leaving Yemen, and subjected her to abuse under the influence of drugs. Her mother further claimed he threatened her at gunpoint, took over her clinic, and confiscated her valuables.
Seeking relief from the harassment, Priya reportedly approached the police in Sana. However, instead of aiding her, authorities detained her for six days.
In 2017, Priya, with the assistance of a jail warden near her clinic, allegedly planned to sedate Mehdi to recover her passport. Unfortunately, an incorrect dosage led to Mehdi’s death due to a drug overdose, as claimed by her mother in the plea.
