E-Paper
Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya's execution halted: What's the crime she was convicted for?
Kerala's Nimisha Priya had moved to Yemen in 2011 to work as a nurse in Sana'a.
Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya's execution in Yemen, scheduled for July 16, was halted on Tuesday. Priya (37), hails from Kerala's Palakkad district. She is currently lodged in a jail in Yemen's capital Sana'a, was handed the death sentence after being convicted of murdering a Yemeni national in 2017.
A court handed her the death penalty in 2010, a verdict which was upheld by the Houthis' Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023.
The Indian government has since then been in regular contact with Yemeni authorities and members of Priya's family. They have focused on the Islamic tradition of “diyat” or payment of “blood money” to the victim's family.
Priya's stay at Yemen – separation from family, physical abuse
She had moved to Yemen in 2011 to work as a nurse in Sana'a. Her family – her husband and daughter – returned to India in 2014 due to financial challenges and the civil unrest.
Priya stayed back in Yemen to earn for her family, partnering with a Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi to open a clinic, which is a legal requirement for foreign medical practitioners.
Also Read | ‘Islam has a law’: India's Grand Mufti who helped defer Nimisha Priya execution
However, Mahdi allegedly used forged documents to claim he was married to Priya, subjecting her to physical abuse and financial exploitation. Priya also claimed that Mahdi had seized her passport and used drugs to control her.
Why was Priya put on a death row?
Following the abuse and control at the hands of Mahdi, Priya approached the local authorities. However, instead of being given protection, Priya was arrested.
Mahdi's seizure of Priya's passport prevented her from returning to her family. In an attempt to recover the document, Priya sedated Mahdi in 2017. However, the dosage of the drugs she administered to the Yemeni national led to his death.
With the help of a local woman, who was also her colleague, Priya dismembered Mahdi's body and disposed of it in a water tank.
