India Reaches Diplomatic Limit as Kerala Nurse Faces Execution in Yemen on July 16
The Indian government has informed the Supreme Court that it has exhausted all possible diplomatic and legal channels to secure clemency for Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who is scheduled to be executed in Yemen on July 16 for the 2017 murder of a Yemeni businessman.
“There is a point till which the Government of India can go. We have reached that,” Attorney General R Venkataramani told the bench on Monday, while responding to a plea filed by the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council. The citizens’ group is seeking government intervention to delay or halt the execution.
The case has been further complicated by the fact that India does not have formal diplomatic ties with the Houthi rebel group, which controls the Yemeni capital Sana'a—where Priya remains incarcerated. The government said it had even approached a powerful sheikh in Yemen in a bid to secure a temporary reprieve, and received informal indications that the execution might be delayed. However, as of Monday morning, there was no official confirmation.
The Supreme Court, while hearing the matter, questioned its own authority to intervene. “How can we pass that order with respect to a foreign nation? Who is going to follow it?” a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta remarked, adjourning the case to July 18 and asking for updates in the meantime.
Blood Money Talks Stall on Grounds of ‘Honour’
Under Sharia law followed in Houthi-controlled Yemen, a murder convict can be pardoned by the victim’s family upon payment of blood money. The Save Nimisha Priya group informed the court that the nurse’s family had arranged a substantial sum for compensation. However, the victim's family has refused to negotiate, citing the issue as one of honour.
“They say it’s a question of honour… We don’t know if it changes with more money. But as of now, it’s a standstill,” the Attorney General stated.
Background of the Case
Nimisha Priya, 38, from Palakkad, had moved to Yemen in 2008 to work as a nurse. After years in the medical field, she opened a clinic with the help of local businessman Talal Abdo Mahdi—who later allegedly began abusing her. In 2017, in an attempt to retrieve her passport withheld by Mahdi, Priya injected him with sedatives, resulting in his death by overdose.
She was convicted of murder by a trial court in Sana'a in 2020, with the death sentence upheld in 2023 by the Supreme Judicial Council under the Houthi regime.
Her mother, Prema Kumari, has been in Yemen for over a year pleading for clemency. She was granted court clearance to travel to the conflict zone last December and has managed to visit her daughter in prison on a few occasions.
As time runs out, the family, citizens’ groups, and legal activists continue to hold on to hope for a last-minute breakthrough—even as official avenues appear to have reached their end.
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(This story is published from a syndicated feed)