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Nothing much India can do, govt tells SC ahead of Nimisha's Yemen execution date
Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala's Palakkad, is on death row in Yemen over a murder case and her execution is planned for July 16.
The government on Monday told the Supreme Court that there's "nothing much" it can do to stop Kerala-based nurse Nimisha Priya's execution in Yemen.
"There's nothing much government can do...looking at sensitivity of Yemen...it's not diplomatically recognized," AG Venkataramani, the government's counsel, was quoted as saying by Live Law.
The remarks came during a hearing of a plea seeking government intervention in stopping the execution, planned for July 16.
While the government did say it was trying its best to save Nimisha through private channels, it said there was only so far it could go.
"There's a point till which government of India can go. We have reached that. Yemen is not like any other part of the world. We didn't want to complicate situation by going public, we are trying at private level," the counsel told the top court.
The petitioner however requested that the government negotiate with the murder victim's family in Yemen. Nimisha's family has offered ₹8.6 crore to the victim's family as 'blood money', a provision valid under Yemen’s Sharia law.
However, the government told the Supreme Court that blood money is a private negotiation, adding that the government was making efforts privately with “some Sheikh, influential people there”.
Nimisha Priya, a resident of Kerala's Palakkad district, is on a death row in Yemen over an alleged murder and her execution date has been planned on June 16.
She is currently lodged in a prison controlled by the the Iran-backed Houthis, with whom India shares no diplomatic ties. Speaking about its limitations in tackling the issue, the government also told the Supreme Court that there was no way of knowing what wwas going on in Yemen.
“It's not a matter where govt can be asked to do something beyond...it's very unfortunate,” the government counsel told the court.
Nimisha Priya moved to Yemen with her family in 2011 for work, but her husband and daughter returned to India three years later over financial troubles.
Nimisha stayed back to earn for her family and decided to open a clinic, for which partnered up with a Yemeni national named Talal Abdo Mahdi.
However, Mahdi later allegedly physically abused and threatened her and confiscated her passport. In a bit to get hold of her passport and flee Yemen, Nimisha tried to sedate Mahdi, but the dose killed him.
Nimisha has since been accused of Mahdi's murder and was sentenced to death in the case in 2020. Last-minute efforts are underway with Nimisha's execution planned for July 16.
The matter has been re-listed for a hearing on Friday, July 18.
