Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, went to Yemen in 2008 to help her family financially. There she worked in many hospitals, and later started her own clinic. Partnership with a local citizen is necessary to start a business in Yemen, during this time she met a man named Talal Abdo Mahdi. After some time, the dispute between the two increased and Nimisha filed a complaint against him. Mahdi was jailed but after being released, he started harassing Nimisha again. Amidst this conflict, in 2017, Nimisha gave Mahdi a sedative injection to make him unconscious, so that she could get her passport back, but he died of overdose.

Arrest, conviction and Yemen's strict punishment system

After Mahdi's death, Nimisha was arrested while trying to flee Yemen and was convicted of murder in 2018. After this, Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council upheld her death sentence in November 2023. Yemen's law provides for direct death penalty for many crimes including murder. Now the news has come that she can be hanged on 16 July 2025. The Government of India is keeping a close watch on this matter and the Ministry of External Affairs has said that they are in constant touch with the family and the local authorities of Yemen.

Nimisha Priya can also be saved, know how?

In Yemen's law, relief from the death penalty can be obtained through 'blood money' i.e. compensation, but this is possible only if the family of the deceased forgives and fixes the amount. Nimisha's mother, who works as a domestic help in Kochi, even sold her house to fight the case. The Indian Embassy-appointed lawyer Abdullah Aamir demanded a fee of $20,000 before the talks began, which halted the talks in September 2024. The Ministry of External Affairs paid some amount, but the lawyer demanded a total of $40,000, which created problems in funding and transparency.

The family's last appeal and hope from the government

Now that the date of July 16 is near, Nimisha's mother and Save Nimisha Priya Action Council are pinning their last hopes on the government and society. Her mother said, now there is very little time left. Thank you for the help the government has provided so far, but this is my last request - save my daughter's life. This matter has now become not just about a person's life, but also about justice, humanity and India's diplomatic role.