Have done everything possible to save Nimisha Priya: Centre to Supreme Court on Indian nurse’s execution in Yemen

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing a plea by the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council seeking the court’s intervention to direct the Centre to assist in the negotiations through diplomatic channels. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that Priya’s family and supporters were negotiating a “blood money” deal with the murder victim’s family, so that she could be pardoned under Sharia law.

The counsel said Priya’s mother is in Yemen and that the action council is only requesting the Centre’s intervention for negotiating with the family while the “blood money” is arranged.

The attorney-general pointed out that “blood money is a private negotiation…” He added, “There’s no way we can get to know what is really happening. We have been trying…”

He said the government had even reached out to an influential sheikh in Yemen and requested the public prosecutor to suspend the execution. “We got informal communication that the execution would be put in abeyance, but we don’t know if it will work out,” he pointed out.

Terming it a sensitive matter, Justice Mehta said the manner in which the incident took place is a matter of concern and that “it’s very sad” if she loses her life.

The counsel said that “good Samaritans are unable to help because it is Yemen. We are even willing to pay higher blood money to save her”.

The attorney-general submitted that it’s not a matter where the government can be asked to do something beyond what it has already done. “It’s very unfortunate,” he said.

The court adjourned the matter till July 18 with the direction that it be apprised of the status.

Meanwhile in Yemen

Sources familiar with the developments told The Indian Express that discussions are underway at various levels in Yemen to save her life.

“Discussions to save her life are at a crucial stage. We are hopeful about a positive outcome. Community leaders, two Yemeni citizens associated with the Indian mission, and a negotiator, Samuel Jerome Bhaskaran, are involved in the discussions,” said a source.

Nimisha Priya’s mother, Prema Kumari, who has been camping in Yemen since last year, told The Indian Express, “I met my daughter in jail last month. She is suffering in silence.”

Back in Kerala, prominent Muslim leader and general secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama, Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar, has also made interventions to try and secure Nimisha’s release. Musaliyar has urged a prominent Sufi scholar in Yemen to hold discussions with Talal’s family and local leadership to see that the family pardons the woman.

The case

Priya, who hails from Palakkad, Kerala, was found guilty of murdering Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017. She was arrested while trying to flee Yemen and sentenced to death in 2018.

After becoming a qualified nurse, Priya moved to Yemen in 2008. In 2011, she married Tomy Thomas in Kerala. Both wanted to start their own clinic, but under Yemeni law, this required them to partner with a local.

The couple approached Talal Abdo Mehdi, a regular at the clinic where Priya worked as a nurse, for help. Once the clinic started, however, Mahdi allegedly subjected her to abuse and took her travel documents. It is alleged that Priya, with the help of fellow nurse Hannan, tried to sedate Mahdi to get her papers back, but an overdose led to his death. The duo then chopped Mahdi’s body and dumped it in a water tank. Both were eventually arrested.

The death sentence was awarded to her by a trial court in Yemen and upheld by the country’s Supreme Court. Last year, Yemen’s President Rashad al-Alimi approved the death sentence for the 38-year-old woman. The order has been with the prosecutor since January this year.