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Who is Nimisha Priya, and how did a Kerala nurse end up on Yemen’s death row?
Nimisha Priya moved to Yemen in 2011 to work as a nurse. Her husband, daughter returned to India due to financial issues and civil unrest, but she stayed back.
Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse from Kollengode in Kerala's Palakkad district, is facing execution in Yemen, after being convicted of murdering a Yemeni national in 2017. She was earlier set to be executed on July 16, but it has now been postponed by the Yemen authorities.
The case, complicated by geopolitical and legal challenges, has drawn urgent diplomatic attention from New Delhi, but no breakthrough has been achieved.
The 37-year-old had gone to Yemen for work. She ended up in a prison in the capital city Sana’a, which is under the control of the Iran-backed Houthi administration, with which India has no formal diplomatic ties.
Trapped in an abusive partnership
Priya had initially moved to Yemen in 2011 to work as a nurse in Sana'a. In 2014, her husband and daughter returned to India due to financial constraints and worsening civil unrest in the region, while she stayed back to support them.
Later, she partnered with a Yemeni national, Talal Abdo Mahdi, to open a clinic — a legal requirement in Yemen for foreign medical practitioners. However, according to Priya, Mahdi forged documents to claim marriage with her and subjected her to years of physical abuse, financial exploitation, and threats.
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She alleged that Mahdi withheld her passport and used drugs to control her. Despite approaching local authorities with complaints of abuse, she was reportedly arrested instead of receiving protection.
Background of Nimisha Priya’s case
Priya was convicted of murdering Mahdi. According to case details, Mahdi had reportedly confiscated Priya's passport, making it impossible for her to return to India and keeping her dependent on him.
Also Read | Hectic efforts on to prevent execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen on July 16
The murder took place in 2017, when Priya attempted to sedate him with the aim of recovering her passport and fleeing Yemen. However, the sedative dose turned lethal, leading to Mahdi’s death. With the help of a local woman named Hanan, Priya dismembered the body and disposed of it in a water tank.
In 2020, a Yemeni court sentenced her to death, and the Houthis' Supreme Judicial Council upheld the punishment in November 2023.
Indian efforts amid Nimisha Priya's scheduled execution
India has been actively working to prevent Priya’s execution.“We have been closely following the matter since she was given the death sentence. We have been in regular touch with Yemeni authorities and her family members and rendered all possible assistance,” one Indian official said. “We continue to closely follow the matter,” he added.
The government earlier said in Parliament that it was providing all assistance to the family of Nimisha Priya.
However, a key challenge has been the lack of formal diplomatic channels with the Houthi administration, which has made negotiations difficult.
In a bid to secure her release, Priya's mother, Premakumari, travelled to Yemen last year. Indian authorities also explored the possibility of arranging a “diyat” — or blood money — payment to the victim’s family, which is permitted under Yemeni law. However, that option appears to have stalled due to complications in local negotiations.
With the execution scheduled for July 16, Priya remains incarcerated in Sana’a, awaiting the final outcome of last-minute efforts that may determine her fate. The case has triggered appeals from human rights groups and citizen-led campaigns urging urgent intervention from the Indian government and international agencies.
