Will Iran be a saviour of Nimisha Priya, Indian nurse on death row in Yemen?

Iran has expressed its willingness to do whatever it can on “humanitarian” grounds to help in the case of Nimisha Priya, a nurse from India’s Kerala facing death penalty in Yemen for the murder of a Yemeni national.

A senior Iranian official confirmed that “on humanitarian grounds” Tehran is “willing to do whatever” it can in the case of the Kerala nurse who has been imprisoned in Yemen’s capital Sanaa.

“We will take up the issue of the nurse. She seems to have been charged with manslaughter. We will do whatever we can in this case on humanitarian grounds,” the official said.

As per sources to News18, Nimisha Priya was arrested in an area that is not under the control of the Houthis and therefore, other countries can try and help her.

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Iran said that although the Indian nurse was arrested outside the territory of Houthi, it would do everything to free her and won’t hesitate to take stern steps.

Will Iran’s request be heard by Yemen

Sanaa is currently under the control of the Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthi movement, which has a representative office in Tehran, and has been in constant touch with the Iranian government.

However, the Iranian official clarified that the Houthis do not solely follow Tehran’s lead when it comes to policy, saying that they offer advice when required, but it is up to them to make their own decisions.

Who is Nimisha Priya & why is she on death row?

A nurse from Kerala’s Palakkad district, Nimisha Priya began her career in 2008 and moved to Yemen where she started to work in a few private hospitals,

In 2011, she married Tomy Thomas, who is an electrician. The couple dreamed of opening their own clinic, but as per Yemeni laws a local partner is required and then they partnered with Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national who soon became close to their family.

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In 2014, Talal Abdo Mahdi promised Nimisha Priya to help her start her own clinic, but soon he allegedly started to exploit her trust.

Talal Abdo Mahdi reportedly forged documents claiming Nimisha Priya as his wife, withheld clinic earnings, and subjected her to abuse. Not just this, he also reportedly confiscated her travel documents, leaving her trapped in Yemen during the ongoing civil war.

In 2017, Priya alongwith another nurse, Hannan, attempted to sedate Talal Abdo Mahdi to retrieve her documents, however, an overdose led to his death. In panic, they reportedly dismembered his body and hid it in a water tank.

They were arrested by Yemeni authorities in July 2017. In 2020, a trial court in Sanaa sentenced her to death and her appeal was dismissed by Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023.

After this she was left with only options – a presidential pardon or a pardon from the family after paying ‘blood money’.

What is ‘blood money’ pardon in Nimisha Priya case?

The option of paying blood money was kept open for the release of Nimisha Priya in which she could have been let go if the family of the victim (Talal Abdo Mehdi) and their tribal leader forgave her. Her death sentence could have been set aside if the victim’s family pardoned her and accepted blood money.

The negotiations were underway, but were stalled in September. Talal Abdo Mahdi’s family originally had requested 50 million Yemeni Rials in compensation in 2022.

Also, the payment of the lawyer appointed on behalf of Nimisha Priya got delayed. As a pre-negotiation fee, the lawyer had demanded $40,000 and denied to proceed further unless the entire amount was paid to him.

The second option was gone too on Monday (December 30) after Yemen’s President Rashad al-Alimi approved her death penalty.

Bid to save Nimisha Priya

Nimisha Priya’s mother is currently in Yemen, negotiating with Talal Abdo Mahdi’s family to stop her death penalty by offering ‘blood money’.

In November 2023, the Indian government sanctioned $40,000 to aid negotiations. However, the total amount required is estimated at $300,000–$400,000. The Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council is raising funds through crowdfunding to meet this amount.

With inputs from agencies.