Indian nurse’s case handled by Houthis, her death penalty not ratified by President: Yemen embassy

Hailing from Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, Nimisha Priya was found guilty of murdering a Yemeni citizen in July 2017. The 37-year-old nurse is presently lodged in a jail in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital city that is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis.

According to reports, Nimisha Priya was handed capital punishment by a trial court in 2020 which was upheld in November 2023 by the Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council.

Last week, India said it is closely following the developments in the case. “We are closely following the developments around the sentencing of Nimisha Priya. The government is extending all possible help in the matter,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Friday.

Nimisha Priya has been accused of murdering Mehdi by allegedly “injecting him with sedatives to get her passport that was in his possession”. The nurse had been residing in Yemen for over a decade and working in private hospitals. After her husband and daughter returned to India due to financial reasons, Nimisha Priya set up her clinic in Yemen with assistance from Mehdi.

In a plea moved by Nimisha Priya’s mother, the family alleged Mehdi tortured the nurse for years and took away her passport to ensure she could not leave Yemen.