Why Yemen awarded death sentence to Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya

Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse from Kerala, is facing a death sentence in Yemen. She has been reportedly handed capital punishment for allegedly murdering a Yemeni citizen. Reports said Priya was handed capital punishment by a trial court in 2020 and Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council upheld the verdict in November 2023. Yemen's President Rashad al-Alimi has reportedly approved Priya's death sentence.

Meanwhile, India has said it is extending all possible help to explore relevant options in the case of Priya. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi is extending all possible help in the matter. "We are aware of the sentencing of Nimisha Priya in Yemen. We understand that the family of Priya is exploring relevant options," Jaiswal said. "The government is extending all possible help in the matter," he added.

Hailing from Kollengode in Kerala's Palakkad district, Priya is a trained nurse and has worked in private hospitals in Yemen for a few years. Her husband and minor daughter returned to India in 2014 because of financial reasons. In the same year, Yemen was gripped by civil war, and they could not go back as the country stopped issuing new visas.

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Later in 2015, Nimisha joined hands with a Mahdi to set up her clinic in Yemen's capital city Sana. A plea moved by mother of Priya had stated, "After a while, Nimisha's clinic began, Mahdi manipulated the ownership documents of the clinic. He also began to take money out of her monthly earnings after telling everyone that Nimisha was his wife Nimisha had alleged that Mahdi had been harassing her and her family for years. Mahdi also seized her passport." Priya once tried sedating Mahdi, using a stronger sedative to retrieve her passport but he died within a few minutes due to a drug overdose.

(With inputs from ANI)