MEA to Extend ‘All Possible Help’ to a Kerala Nurse Sentenced to Death in Yemen

Nimisha Priya, a nurse from the Indian state of Kerala has been sanctioned death sentence in Yemen. Rashad al-Amini, the Yemen President sanctioned the death sentence to the Indian nurse for allegedly murdering a Yemeni citizen

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India said on Tuesday (today) that it is extending all possible help to her. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, in a statement, reportedly said, “We are aware of the sentencing of Ms. Nimisha Priya in Yemen. We understand that the family of Priya is exploring relevant options.”
“The government is extending all possible help in the matter,” he added 

Nimisha Priya was accused of murdering one Yemeni citizen named Talal Abdo Mehdi in 2017 by allegedly “injecting him with sedatives to get her passport that was in his possession”. Priya was sentenced to death earlier in 2020 by a lower court of Yemen, which the Supreme Court of the country confirmed the death sentence in November this year.

Priya  had been residing in Yemen for over a decade, working in private hospitals. After her husband and daughter returned to India for financial reasons, she set up her own clinic there with help from Mehdi.

As per media reports, Mehdi accompanied Priya for a month-long stay in Kerala in 2015. He allegedly stole a wedding photograph of her with her husband, and later manipulated it to claim that he was married to Priya.

In a plea moved by Nimisha’s mother, the family alleged that Mehdi tortured her for years and took away her passport to make sure that she could not leave Yemen. Her mother also added that Mehdi tortured her under the influence of drugs and even held her at gunpoint several times.

Priya approached the local police station in Yemen to complaint against Mehdi’s torture.  But police  imprisoned her for six days, instead of taking action against Mehdi, reports said. 

Priya’s mother alleged in her plea that in 2017 Nimisha, with support of the warden of the jail near her clinic, planned to sedate Mehdi and take away her passport, but due to the overdose Mehdi passed away.