Indian nurse faces the gallows in Houthi-controlled prison

An international legal battle might be nearing its end as an Indian nurse awaits imminent execution in Yemen following a trial that activists have long deemed opaque.

Yemen’s court in Sanaa, operating under Houthi control, is set to carry out a death sentence on July 16th on 37‑year‑old Nimisha Priya for the murder of a local man, according to unconfirmed reports, The Hindu reported on July 8th.

According to The Daily Jagran on July 14th, in Kerala, Priya’s home state, domestic pressure has surged with last-minute efforts to save her life.

In 2020, Priya was sentenced to death for the alleged murder of her former business partner, Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national, whose chopped-up body was found inside a water tank in 2017.

At the time, local laws prevented foreigners from owning businesses outright, so in 2014, Priya partnered up with Mahdi to open her own clinic, according to CNN on July 15th.

Within a year, the partnership soured, and according to Priya’s family, Mahdi turned abusive and controlling. He allegedly extorted money, prevented her from contacting her family, forged documents claiming she was his wife, and even threatened her life. He also reportedly confiscated her travel documents, leaving her trapped in Yemen during the civil war.

After fruitless attempts to involve the authorities in 2016, Priya took matters into her own hands. In July 2017, she dosed Mahdi with ketamine to recover her passport and escape the country. While her advocates maintain that she only intended to sedate him, an overdose resulted in his death.

Priya’s trial has garnered international attention and sympathy, especially from activists who claim it lacked due process. Held entirely in Arabic, which she does not speak, Priya was denied an interpreter, and did not have access to a lawyer until much later in the trial.

On July 14th, Amnesty International called on the Houthis to “establish a moratorium on all executions and commute (Priya’s) and all existing death sentences as first steps.”

In a letter sent to the Central Government on July 13th, Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote: “Considering the fact that this is a case deserving sympathy, I appeal to the Hon’ble Prime Minister to take up the matter and intervene with the authorities concerned to save the life of Nimisha Priya.”

On July 14th, the Chief Minister took to X to reiterate his plea, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene to “secure the release of Nimisha Priya, who remains imprisoned in Yemen.”

However, the Indian government has few diplomatic levers available. India does not have an embassy in Sanaa, nor formal diplomatic ties with the Houthis.

According to the Attorney General of India, although the government is apparently in touch with Yemeni authorities, including the public prosecutor, ultimately, “there’s no way we can know what’s happening [in Yemen].”

With time running out, Priya’s only path to clemency might be through the practice of blood money– a settlement provided to the family of the deceased– if they are willing to accept it.

Subhash Chandran, a lawyer who has represented Nimisha’s family in India in the past, told the BBC that the family had already crowdfunded $40,000 for the victim’s family.

CNN reported that Nimisha’s mother, Prema Kumari, who sold her house to pay for her daughter’s legal fees, has been living in Yemen for more than a year. She has also been engaging with Mahdi’s family regarding the blood money settlement.

Despite these odds, Priya’s husband and daughter retain hope for her release.

“My wife is very good, she is very loving,” Tomy Thomas, her husband, told CNN. “That is the sole reason I am with her, supporting her and will do so till the end.”

The Hindu/ The Daily Jargon/ CNN/ BBC/ Maghrebi