Latest news with #SaveNimishaPriya
The National
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Family of Indian nurse on death row in Yemen hope for ‘miracle' pardon
Indian nurse Nimisha Priya is set to be executed in Sanaa on Wednesday over the murder of a Yemeni citizen, even as her family races to secure a last-minute pardon from the victim's relatives. Legal and diplomatic options have run out for the nurse, 34, from Kerala state in southern India, with a final hearing in the Supreme Court in New Delhi held on Monday. A petition filed by the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council had asked the Indian government to intervene to stop the execution, set for Wednesday in Yemen. India's attorney general told the Delhi court the government had done its best and that, diplomatically, there was nothing more authorities could do. India has no diplomatic ties with Yemen, with a travel ban in place since the outbreak of civil war in 2014. Blood money as final prayer The Indian nurse faces the death sentence over the murder of Talal Mahdi, also her business partner, after his dismembered body was discovered in a water tank in 2017. She has been in jail in Sanaa for the past eight years and her family's hopes are tied to Mr Mahdi's family accepting diya, or blood money, that would prevent the execution. 'We are hoping and praying some miracle will happen in the next two days,' Deepa Joseph, a lawyer in India and vice-chairwoman of the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, told The National. 'The coming moments are crucial, the next days will be critical as the final order of the prosecution is for execution on July 16.' The group was formed five years ago and works as a legal and humanitarian campaign to mobilise support for Ms Priya. Diya money is typically paid to the heirs of the deceased by the party found responsible for causing the death. Under Sharia, the only way to stop the execution is a pardon from the victim's family and acceptance of diya money. 'The blood money is the only remedy now,' said Ms Joseph, who is in contact with Ms Priya. "Her last message to me was: 'Ma'am, please tell everyone to pray for me, please try to save me.'' Ms Priya's supporters hope 11th-hour talks with the victim's family will come through. Supporters had raised $40,000 through crowdfunding and the money was sent in two instalments to Yemen to lawyers hired by the Indian government to negotiate over details of the case. Her family this month offered another $1 million as a final clemency plea to save her life. Funds were donated by business leaders, the community in Kerala and from overseas, including the UAE and other Gulf nations. Ms Joseph was at the Supreme Court hearing in Delhi on Monday and acknowledged most options had run out. 'The attorney general is right, the Indian government has done everything possible,' she said. "The government appointed an attorney and allowed Nimisha's mother to travel to Yemen. 'Before this we were in crisis because there is no Indian embassy in Yemen, so sending money was difficult and the government helped facilitate us getting the money to Yemen.' Prema Kumari, Ms Priya's mother, was granted permission by the Delhi High Court to travel to Yemen. She has been in Sanaa since last year and has seen her daughter a few times in jail. Case details Ms Priya was 19 when she went to Yemen to work as a nurse in 2008. Her lawyer, during the trial in Yemen, had alleged that Mr Mahdi had abused her physically and mentally, and had confiscated her passport so she was unable to travel to India for years. The lawyer argued that so she could retrieve her passport, she injected Mr Mahdi with sedatives, leading to his death from an accidental overdose. A court in Sanaa sentenced her to death in 2020. Her family challenged the decision but their appeal was rejected in 2023 by Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council. Mahdi Al-Mashat, president of the Yemen's rebel Houthi Supreme Political Council, approved the execution in January. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene. Ms Priya comes from a modest background and her mother works as a housemaid in Kerala. She left India to work in a government-run hospital in Sanaa hoping to change her family's fortunes. She returned to India to marry Tomi Thomas, an autorickshaw driver, in 2011 and the couple now have a daughter, 13. The couple lived in Yemen for a while but Mr Thomas later returned to India with their daughter. Ms Priya took a loan and opened a clinic in Yemen with Mr Mahdi, as she was legally required to have a Yemini partner for the business. In a petition filed in the Delhi High Court, the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council alleged Mr Mahdi had kept her passport, threatened her with a gun and seized money made by the clinic. When Mr Mahdi's body was found by Sanaa police in 2017, Ms Priya was charged with killing him and chopping up his body. 'I'm not saying this is not a crime, I'm not justifying it or saying she is innocent,' Ms Joseph said. 'This is not the time to say she is wrong or he was wrong. But for the last eight years, she has been in jail and facing news of her death each and every day. For any person, that is also a penalty.'
UAE Moments
3 days ago
- UAE Moments
Indian Nurse Awaits Pardon to Escape Death Row in Yemen
Final Hope for Indian Nurse on Death Row Lies in Pardon from Yemeni Family With just days left until her scheduled execution on July 16, Indian nurse Nimisha Priya is holding onto one final hope — a pardon from the family of the Yemeni man she was convicted of killing. Activist Babu John, part of the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, revealed that Priya's family has offered $1 million (approx. AED 3.67 million) in diya (blood money) to the victim's family in a desperate bid to save her life. Nimisha moved to Yemen in 2008 to support her family back home, eventually launching her own clinic. As per local regulations, she entered into a business partnership with a Yemeni national, Talal Abdo Mehdi. The relationship reportedly turned abusive, and events spiraled into a tragic confrontation. Now imprisoned, Nimisha has been serving fellow inmates as a nurse while awaiting her fate. Her story has sparked international outcry and a renewed push from activists and the Indian diaspora to appeal for mercy. Her only chance at survival lies in forgiveness from Talal's family — a decision that could rewrite the ending of a case filled with pain, injustice, and complexity.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
SC agrees to hear plea seeking intervention to save Kerala nurse on death row in Yemen
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear a plea seeking a direction to the Centre to use diplomatic channels to save an Indian nurse, who is likely to be executed in Yemen on July 16 for murder charges. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi listed the matter for hearing on July 14 after advocate Subhash Chandran KR said diplomatic channels need to be explored at the earliest. He submitted that payment of blood money to the family of the deceased permissible under Sharia law can be explored. The family of the deceased may pardon the Kerala nurse if blood money is paid, he submitted. The bench asked the counsel to serve the copy of the petition to the Attorney General and sought his assistance. Nimisha Priya, 38, a nurse from Palakkad district of Kerala, was convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner in 2017. She was sentenced to death in 2020, and her final appeal was rejected in 2023. She is currently imprisoned in a jail in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen. The plea has been filed by an organisation "Save Nimisha Priya - International Action Council" which extends legal support to assist Nimishapriya. The plea cited a media report that stated that the tentative date for execution of Nimishapriya has been fixed as July 16 by the Yemeni administration.
India Today
6 days ago
- India Today
Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya on death row in Yemen to be executed on July 16
Kerala-born nurse Nimisha Priya, sentenced to death in Yemen for murdering a Yemeni national, is set to be executed on July 16, according to human rights activist Samuel who is part of the Save Nimisha Priya action council and has been involved in negotiations with Yemeni officials and the victim's family, confirmed that the letter of execution has been issued and the jail authorities have officially informed Nimisha of the is still hope if the victim's family, that of Talal Abdo Mehdi, forgives her and accepts the blood money. 'If the family forgive, blood money will be paid. The negotiations were going on but they haven't yet accepted the offer to forgive,' Jerome said. He added that all other legal options have been exhausted, leaving forgiveness from the family as the only remaining possibility. The negotiation team has reportedly offered USD one million to the victim's family as compensation. Babu John, a member of the action council, confirmed the offer. Nimisha's mother, Prema Kumari, who has been in Yemen since 2024 to help save her daughter, continues to stay there as efforts to secure forgiveness Save Nimisha Priya action council said the Director General of Prosecution in Yemen has informed the jailer about the LED TO NIMISHA'S DEATH SENTENCE?Nimisha moved to Yemen in 2008 and worked in several hospitals before opening her own clinic in 2015 with Talal Abdo Mehdi as her mandatory local to her family, disputes arose after she accused him of embezzling funds. To reclaim her passport, allegedly held by Mehdi, she injected him with sedatives to render him unconscious. However, the overdose reportedly led to his death. Nimisha was arrested while trying to flee December 30 last year, Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi approved the death sentence for Nimisha Priya, who has been in prison since 2017.- EndsTrending Reel
