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The National
an hour ago
- Politics
- The National
Yemen intercepts 'massive' Iranian weapons shipment bound for Houthis, Centcom says
US Central Command on Wednesday said that Yemeni partners had intercepted a shipment of Iranian weapons bound for the Houthis. In a statement, Centcom, which oversees US military interests in the Middle East, congratulated the Yemeni National Resistance Forces for what it called 'the largest seizure of Iranian advanced conventional weapons in their history'. 'The NRF intercepted and seized over 750 tonnes of munitions and hardware to include hundreds of advanced cruise, anti-ship, and anti-aircraft missiles, warheads and seekers, components as well as hundreds of drone engines, air defence equipment, radar systems and communications equipment,' Centcom said. It added that the NRF had found manuals written in Farsi and that many of the seized systems were manufactured by a company affiliated with the Iranian Ministry of Defence that is under US sanctions. Centcom chief Gen Michael Erik Kurilla commended the NRF. 'The interdiction of this massive Iranian shipment shows that Iran remains the most destabilising actor in the region. Limiting the free flow of Iranian support to the Houthis is critic to regional security, stability, and freedom of navigation,' he said. The NRF is a coalition of former members of the Yemeni Republican Guard and the Central Security Organisation. It backs the internationally recognised Yemeni government, which was deposed in 2014 after the Houthis captured the capital Sanaa. The Houthis, who control much of southern Yemen, are allied with Iran. In support of Hamas in Gaza, the group has been engaged in a continuing conflict with Israel, attacking ships traversing the Red Sea. The US carried out an extensive bombing campaign against the Houthis earlier this year until the attacks on international shipping ceased. But the Houthis have restarted their campaign in the Red Sea, sinking two vessels and killing several crew in recent weeks.
CTV News
a day ago
- Politics
- CTV News
An Indian family's fight to save this mother from execution in war-torn Yemen
Nimisha Priya, a nurse and mother, has been on death row in Yemen since 2020. (Member of Save Nimisha Priya Action council via CNN Newsource) Relatives of an Indian nurse on death row in war-torn Yemen are racing against time to commute her death sentence, in a case that has gripped India's media. Nimisha Priya was sentenced to death for the murder of her former business partner, a Yemeni national, whose body was discovered in a water tank in 2017. Her execution was initially scheduled for Wednesday, but Indian government sources said on Tuesday she had been given a last minute reprieve. She was given the death penalty by a court in capital Sanaa in 2020 and her family has been fighting for her release since, complicated by the lack of formal ties between New Delhi and the Houthis, who have controlled the city since the country's civil war broke out in 2014. India's media has devoted significant coverage to the case and human rights groups have called on the Houthis not to carry it out. Amnesty International on Monday urged the Houthis to 'establish a moratorium on all executions and commute (Priya's) and all existing death sentences as first steps.' It added: 'The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.' Priya's mother Prema Kumari, a domestic labourer from Kerala, who sold her home to fund her daughter's legal fees, has been in Yemen for more than one year to facilitate negotiations for her release. She last saw Priya on June 18, she told CNN. 'She looked tense,' Kumar said through tears. In accordance with Yemen's Islamic laws, Priya could be given clemency if the victim's family pardon her and accept her family's donation of 'diyah', often dubbed blood money, according to Samuel Joseph, a social worker assisting her family in the case. 'I am optimistic,' said Joseph, an Indian who has lived in Yemen since 1999. 'I'm spiriting the efforts here, and by god's grace, we got people who are helping. The government of India is directly involved and there's nothing more I can say at this point of time,' he told CNN. The Indian government sources said Tuesday the government has 'made concerted efforts in recent days to seek more time for the family of Ms. Nimishapriya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party.' 'Despite the sensitivities involved, Indian officials have been in regular touch with the local jail authorities and the prosecutor's office, leading to securing this postponement.' Priya allegedly injected her business partner with a fatal overdose of sedatives, Joseph said. Her family maintain she was acting in self-defense and that her business partner was abusive and kept her passport from her after the country's civil war broke out. Her trial was held in Arabic and she was not provided with a translator, Joseph said. A group of activists and lawyers founded the Save Nimisha Priya Action Council in 2020 to raise money for Priya's release and negotiate with the victim's family. 'Negotiations have been a challenge,' said Rafeek Ravuthar, an activist and member of the council. 'The reality is that there is no Indian embassy, there is no mission in this country.' Rafeeq said about five million rupees (nearly US$58,000) has been raised so far. In recent days, politicians from her home state of Kerala have requested India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and help secure Priya's release. 'Considering the fact this is a case deserving sympathy, I appeal to the Hon'ble Prime Minister to take up the matter,' Kerala's chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote in a letter to Modi. In February, Kirti Vardhan Singh, India's Minister of State for External Affairs told the upper house of parliament that the government 'accords the highest priority for the welfare of Indians abroad and provides all possible support to those who fall in distress including in the instant case.' He added: 'Government of India is providing all possible assistance in the case. The matter regarding any consideration towards the release of Ms. Nimisha Priya is between the family of the deceased and Ms. Nimisha Priya's family.' CNN has contacted India's foreign ministry for comment. Move to Yemen Priya first arrived in Yemen in 2008, joining the ranks of more than two million people from Kerala who have sought better livelihoods across the Middle East. She found work as a nurse in a local hospital, nurturing hopes of establishing her own clinic and building a more secure future for her young daughter and husband, according to campaigners from the Save Nimisha Priya Council. Yemeni regulations, however, required foreign nationals to partner with a local to open a business. With the support of her husband, Priya borrowed from family and friends and in 2014 opened a clinic in Sanaa. 'We lived a normal happy married life,' her husband Tomy Thomas told CNN. 'My wife was very loving, hardworking and faithful in all that she did.' But her aspirations were soon overshadowed by the political conflict and turmoil that has beset Yemen for decades. That same year, Houthi rebels seized the capital, ousting the internationally recognized Saudi-backed government. By 2015, the unrest had escalated into a devastating civil war, leaving the country fractured and unstable. For foreign nationals, the deteriorating security situation made Yemen an increasingly perilous place to live and work. Many chose to evacuate, but Priya decided to remain. Those supporting her family say that she stayed on, determined to salvage the life and business she had worked hard to build. India does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with the Houthis, nor does it have an operational embassy in Yemen. All consular and diplomatic affairs related to the country are instead handled through the Indian Embassy in Djibouti, across the Red Sea. CNN has contacted the Indian embassy in Djibouti. For those working to save Priya, that meant navigating complex communication channels and facing additional hurdles in seeking help, legal aid, or protection while stranded in a nation still wracked by conflict and instability. Yemen was among the top five countries in 2024 with the highest number of executions, according to Amnesty International. Amnesty said it confirmed the Houthis carried out at least one execution in areas they control in 2024 but added that it was possible more took place. Priya's mother, Kumari, said she was 'grateful for everyone's support,' adding she is happy has been able to see Priya over the course of this year. Priya's husband and daughter remain in Kerala, hopeful for her release. 'My wife is very good, she is very loving,' Thomas said. 'That is the sole reason I am with her, supporting her and will do so till the end.' By Rhea Mogul, CNN
The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
Indian nurse on death row in Yemen given stay of execution
The execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya which was scheduled for Wednesday in Sanaa over the murder of a Yemeni citizen has been halted to allow for further talks over the case, lawyers said. A petition filed last week by Prema Kumari, Ms Priya's mother, and an Indian social worker currently in Yemen seeking to prevent the execution of the 34-year-old nurse from India's southern Kerala state on July 16 has been accepted. 'We got confirmation about the stay today,' Deepa Joseph, a lawyer in India and vice-chairwoman of the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, told The National. 'We knocked on every door because we needed time. The application for a stay of execution was filed three days ago. We are relieved as it gives more time to talk to the family of the victim.' No details were available on a new date for execution. The family of the Yemeni victim has yet to respond to the offer of $1 million as diya, or blood money, from Ms Priya's mediators, Ms Joseph said. Indian media also reported on Tuesday that Ms Priya's execution had been delayed based on information from government sources. Final negotiations The Indian nurse faces the death sentence over the murder of Talal Mahdi, a Yemeni citizen and her business partner, after police found his dismembered body in a water tank in 2017. She has been in jail in Sanaa for the past eight years and the hopes of her family hinge on Mr Mahdi's relatives granting a pardon. 'There is only one solution for Nimisha and that is for a pardon from the family,' Ms Joseph said. 'We are happy with this stay, as now we can continue talks and go through all procedures to approach the family members.' Under Sharia, the only way to halt an execution is an unconditional pardon by the victim's family or an acceptance of blood money. Diya is usually paid to the heirs of the deceased by the party found responsible for causing the death. Supporters of Ms Priya have been working for several years to mobilise funds and public opinion to commute her death sentence. They had earlier raised $40,000 through crowdfunding and the money was split in two instalments and sent to lawyers in Yemen hired by the Indian government for Ms Priya's defence. The blood money was raised to $1 million this month after business leaders, prominent industrialists, the community in Kerala and overseas, including the UAE, pitched in. Ms Priya was 19 when she went to Yemen to work as a nurse in 2008. During the trial in Yemen, her lawyer alleged she was physically and mentally abused by Mr Mahdi, who was said to have confiscated her passport, leaving her unable to travel to India to meet her mother, husband and young daughter. Her lawyer argued that she had injected Mr Mahdi with sedatives so she could retrieve her passport but this led to his death from an accidental overdose. A court in Sanaa sentenced her death in 2020, her family's appeal was rejected in 2023 by Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council and her execution was approved in January this year.
Times of Oman
a day ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Last-minute reprieve: Indian nurse's execution in Yemen postponed
Sanaa [Yemen]: The execution of 37-year-old nurse from Kerala, Nimisha Priya, which was scheduled for July 16 in Yemen has been postponed, following "concerted efforts" by the Government of India, sources told ANI on Tuesday, citing local authorities. According to the sources, the postponement provides additional time for her family to negotiate a mutually agreeable solution amidst ongoing diplomatic efforts by Indian officials as they maintained regular communication with Yemeni jail authorities and the prosecutor's office while navigating the sensitivities of the situation to secure this reprieve. "In the case of Ms. Nimisha Priya, it has been learnt that the local authorities in Yemen have postponed the execution scheduled for July 16, 2025," the sources stated. "GOI, which has since the beginning of the case been rendering all possible assistance in the matter, has made concerted efforts in recent days to seek more time for the family of Ms. Nimisha Priya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party. Despite the sensitivities involved, Indian officials have been in regular touch with the local jail authorities and the prosecutor's office, leading to securing this postponement," it added. The 37-year-old nurse from Kerala was set to be executed on July 16 after a trial court in Yemen convicted her of killing a Yemeni national, a decision that the country's Supreme Judicial Council upheld in November 2023. Earlier on Monday, while giving the Union Government's submission on the case in the Supreme Court the Attorney General of India (AGI) stated that the Indian government is making every possible effort to help Priya. He further informed the Court that talks are ongoing with Yemeni authorities, including the public prosecutor handling Priya's case, to secure a suspension of the execution order until negotiations can be pursued. However, the AGI also admitted that the Indian government's ability to intervene is limited, describing it as "a very complex issue", adding, "there's no way we can know what's happening (in Yemen)." "There's nothing much that we can do... It's not like any other part of the world (where possible negotiations can be carried out)," the AGI stated.
CNN
2 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
An Indian family's fight to save this mother from execution in war-torn Yemen
Relatives of an Indian nurse on death row in war-torn Yemen are racing against time to commute her death sentence, with her execution set for Wednesday, in a case that has gripped India's media. Nimisha Priya was sentenced to death for the murder of her former business partner, a Yemeni national, whose body was discovered in a water tank in 2017. She was given the death penalty by a court in capital Sanaa in 2020 and her family has been fighting for her release since, complicated by the lack of formal ties between New Delhi and the Houthis, who have controlled the city since the country's civil war broke out in 2014. With her execution looming, India's media has devoted significant coverage to the case and human rights groups have called on the Houthis not to carry it out. Amnesty International on Monday urged the Houthis to 'immediate establish a moratorium on all executions and commute (Priya's) and all existing death sentences as first steps.' It added: 'The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.' In accordance with Yemen's Islamic laws, Priya could be given clemency if the victim's family pardon her and accept her family's donation of 'diyah', often dubbed blood money, according to Samuel Joseph, a social worker assisting her family in the case. 'I am optimistic,' said Joseph, an Indian who has lived in Yemen since 1999. 'I'm spiriting the efforts here, and by god's grace, we got people who are helping. The government of India is directly involved and there's nothing more I can say at this point of time,' he told CNN. Priya allegedly injected her business partner with a fatal overdose of sedatives, Joseph said. Her family maintain she was acting in self-defense and that her business partner was abusive and kept her passport from her after the country's civil war broke out. Her trial was held in Arabic and she was not provided with a translator, Joseph said. A group of activists and lawyers founded the Save Nimisha Priya Action Council in 2020 to raise money for Priya's release and negotiate with the victim's family. 'Negotiations have been a challenge,' said Rafeek Ravuthar, an activist and member of the council. 'The reality is that there is no Indian embassy, there is no mission in this country.' Rafeeq said about five million rupees (nearly $58,000) has been raised so far. In recent days, politicians from her home state of Kerala have requested India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and help secure Priya's release. 'Considering the fact this is a case deserving sympathy, I appeal to the Hon'ble Prime Minister to take up the matter,' Kerala's chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote in a letter to Modi. In February, Kirti Vardhan Singh, India's Minister of State for External Affairs told the upper house of parliament that the government 'accords the highest priority for the welfare of Indians abroad and provides all possible support to those who fall in distress including in the instant case.' He added: 'Government of India is providing all possible assistance in the case. The matter regarding any consideration towards the release of Ms. Nimisha Priya is between the family of the deceased and Ms. Nimisha Priya's family.' CNN has contacted India's foreign ministry for comment. Priya first arrived in Yemen in 2008, joining the ranks of more than two million people from Kerala who have sought better livelihoods across the Middle East. She found work as a nurse in a local hospital, nurturing hopes of establishing her own clinic and building a more secure future for her young daughter and husband, according to campaigners from the Save Nimisha Priya Council. Yemeni regulations, however, required foreign nationals to partner with a local to open a business. With the support of her husband, Priya borrowed from family and friends and in 2014 opened a clinic in Sanaa. 'We lived a normal happy married life,' her husband Tomy Thomas told CNN. 'My wife was very loving, hardworking and faithful in all that she did.' But her aspirations were soon overshadowed by the political conflict and turmoil that has beset Yemen for decades. That same year, Houthi rebels seized the capital, ousting the internationally recognized Saudi-backed government. By 2015, the unrest had escalated into a devastating civil war, leaving the country fractured and unstable. For foreign nationals, the deteriorating security situation made Yemen an increasingly perilous place to live and work. Many chose to evacuate, but Priya decided to remain. Those supporting her family say that she stayed on, determined to salvage the life and business she had worked hard to build. India does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with the Houthis, nor does it have an operational embassy in Yemen. All consular and diplomatic affairs related to the country are instead handled through the Indian Embassy in Djibouti, across the Red Sea. CNN has contacted the Indian embassy in Djibouti. For those working to save Priya, that meant navigating complex communication channels and facing additional hurdles in seeking help, legal aid, or protection while stranded in a nation still wracked by conflict and instability. Yemen was among the top five countries in 2024 with the highest number of executions, according to Amnesty International. Amnesty said it confirmed the Houthis carried out at least one execution in areas they control in 2024 but added that it was possible more took place. Priya's mother, a domestic laborer from Kerala, who sold her home to fund her daughter's legal fees, has been in Yemen for more than one year to facilitate negotiations for her release, according to Jerome. Priya's husband and daughter remain in Kerala, hopeful for her release. 'My wife is very good, she is very loving,' Thomas said. 'That is the sole reason I am with her, supporting her and will do so till the end.' CNN's Deepak Rao contributed reporting
