Efforts to seek relief for Indian nurse on death row in Yemen hindered by gravity of charges

New Delhi | The gravity of charges against Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, who has been sentenced to death by a Yemeni court after being convicted of murdering a citizen of the country, has made it difficult for the efforts to seek relief for her to succeed, sources said.

With Priya likely to be executed on July 16 in Yemen, there have been calls by her family and various political parties and organisations to the Indian government to make diplomatic efforts to save her.

According to Yemeni court documents, Nimisha Priya in July 2017 allegedly drugged and murdered her local business partner, Talal Abdo Mehdi and, with the help of another nurse, chopped his body and disposed of the dismembered parts in an underground tank.

After Mehdi's murder was discovered, Nimisha was arrested and allegedly confessed to the killing in one of her statements, the sources said, adding that the trial court in Sanaa sentenced her to death.

She challenged this verdict in the highest court in Yemen, but her appeal was rejected and the death sentence upheld.

Nimisha then appealed for mercy to the President of Yemen, but he refused to grant her a pardon, the sources noted.

A source said, "The family of the deceased, Talal Abdo Mehdi, is not even willing to accept blood money. All legal efforts have been made for Nimisha Priya, but the allegations against her were so grave that all efforts have failed."

Different political parties and organisations, especially from her home state Kerala, have been demanding that the Indian government intervene in the matter to save Nimisha Priya from the death penalty.

The Ministry of External Affairs has said it is closely monitoring the developments in the case and is extending all possible help.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Centre to use diplomatic channels to save the Indian nurse.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta is likely to hear the matter, which was mentioned for urgent hearing on July 10 with advocate Subhash Chandran KR saying that diplomatic channels need to be explored at the earliest.

Nimisha Priya was working in Yemen as a nurse since 2008, the sources said, adding that she travelled to the country with her husband Tommy Thomas after their marriage in 2011.

Due to the civil war in Yemen in 2014, her husband returned to Kerala with their daughter, while Nimisha stayed in Yemen.