Why bringing back Nimisha Priya, Kerala nurse on death row in Yemen, is a diplomatic rigmarole

The Print

4 days ago

Last week, Priya's execution was postponed after efforts of the government of India at the diplomatic level. The efforts are aimed at allowing the families to reach a 'mutually agreeable solution'. Priya allegedly sedated Talal Abdo Mahdi in an attempt to retrieve her passport to leave the country in 2017. However, Mahdi overdosed and died, according to reports.
Priya has been in prison in Yemen's capital Sana'a since 2017, convicted of killing her business partner. Sana'a is governed by the separatist organisation—Ansar Allah—also known as the Houthis. India does not recognise nor maintain ties with the Iran-backed movement that has controlled Sana'a since 2014. Rather it recognises the government operating in the port city of Aden to the South, which is recognised internationally as the regime in-charge of Yemen.
New Delhi: The complexities of Yemen—a fractured nation, in the midst of a civil war for over a decade, with rival regional powers jockeying for influence, combined with a lack of diplomatic representation from New Delhi—are all playing a role in the fate of Nimisha Priya, the Kerala-born nurse on death row in the West Asian nation.
Born in Kerala's Palakkad district, Nimisha moved to Yemen in 2008 for work. Three years later, she married Tomy Thomas and the two moved back to Yemen and continued working in the West Asian nation. However, by early 2012, Yemen witnessed a major political change due to the impact of the Arab Spring, with its long-time leader Ali Abdullah Saleh lost his grip on power, after 22 years in control of Sana'a.
Within two years, the Houthis, from the North of the country, swept across Yemen, capturing Sana'a and dislodging Saleh's successor Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi from the city. It was around this time that Priya decided to open her own clinic in the West Asian nation.
For a foreigner to operate a business in Yemen, the law requires a local partner. Mahdi entered the situation, even though Priya eventually opened the clinic with her former boss Abdul Lateef, according to media reports.
But Mahdi managed to become a shareholder, and allegedly created documents to show that Priya was his wife, and even took away her passport. Facing torture at the hands of Mahdi, Priya eventually decided to sedate him, retrieve her documents and leave the country, according to reports. However, Mahdi died and Priya was arrested attempting to flee the country.
In 2020, Nimisha Priya was sentenced to death, which was upheld in 2023 by the Supreme Judicial Council. In April 2024, Premakumari, Nimisha Priya's mother finally travelled to Yemen and met her daughter in prison in Sana'a.
There were negotiations over the payment of blood money between Mahdi's family and Priya's family. However, by September 2024 the negotiations were said to have hit a roadblock.
Prominent businesspersons from Kerala including M.A. Yussuff Ali of the LuLu Group and Bobby Chemmanur have offered up to Rs 1 crore each for any potential settlement leading to the release of Priya. The efforts are being coordinated by the 'Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council'.
Last week, Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, confirmed that New Delhi has been in touch with the 'local authorities'—the Houthis—in Sana'a as it continues to diplomatically seek her release.
The only other option for Priya's release is the payment of 'diyah' or blood money to the family of the murdered Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi.
Also read: Setback for efforts to save Nimisha Priya from execution in Yemen as victim's family refuses pardon
The situation in Yemen
Since September 2014, Yemen has been fractured by a civil war fought primarily between the internationally recognised government, currently led by Rashad al-Alimi, and the Houthis. The Houthis are known currently for their efforts to disrupt trade through the Red Sea, in response to Israel's military actions in the Gaza strip.
The civil war in Yemen has regional implications, with Saudi Arabia leading a coalition to dislodge the Houthis from power. Iran, however, supports the Houthis, a Shi'ite revivalist movement, with a history of rising up against the Sunnis in power in the country. Yemen became the latest flash point for the proxy struggle between Riyadh and Tehran for control over West Asia.
In April 2015, after evacuating its citizens from Yemen, New Delhi shut down its mission in the West Asian nation, with all issues with regards to the country handled through its embassy in Riyadh. Furthermore, India has no official ties with Ansar Allah, which has been in control of Sana'a, where Nimisha Priya has been imprisoned since 2018.
In January 2025, Iran offered its assistance to India for the release of Priya. Last week, however, a source in the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi pointed to the current situation in West Asia, which has led to Tehran's inability to be involved in the diplomatic process to see Priya's return.
When Priya first moved to Yemen in 2008, the country had been under the control of Ali Abdullah Saleh for over 18 years. Saleh, born in 1946, in a town outside Sana'a, rose through the ranks in the military of North Yemen.
The country, which was divided between Monarchists and Republicans, was led by a number of military juntas, till Saleh arrived in the political scene in 1978. For the next 12 years, the Yemeni strongman consolidated power and led the country's reunification with the Communist South Yemen in 1990, following the collapse of the USSR.
Saleh remained in power for the next 22 years, until the effects of the Arab Spring led to his downfall in 2012. He was replaced by his long-standing vice-president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. In September 2014, the Ansar Allah occupied Sana'a, demanding lower fuel prices and the formation of a new government. The rebel movement swept South from its stronghold in the North and within months had captured Sana'a.
Hadi and the Houthis engaged in fraught negotiations to find a political agreement. However, this failed in January 2015, Hadi resigned and fled Yemen for Saudi Arabia. In February of that year, Hadi rescinded his resignation and a month later Saudi Arabia along with a coalition of Gulf states began their war in Yemen to dislodge the Houthis through both economic isolation and air strikes along with logistical support from the US.
The Houthis during the initial stages received support from Saleh, as well as military aid from Tehran. The movement soon controlled territory consisting roughly 70 percent of the population, according to some estimates. The proxy war continued for years, with the frontlines largely stabilising following the Saudi-led intervention, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Eventually the Hadi government stabilised its control over Aden, while the Houthis held Sana'a and large swathes of North and North-Western Yemen. Eventually in 2022 a ceasefire was agreed to by both parties, which has been maintained since. Hadi resigned in 2022 after a decade in power, leading to a Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) consisting of eight members and led by al-Alimi. The PLC is the internationally recognised regime, and operates out of Aden.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Day before her execution, a ray of hope for Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen