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Journalism of Courage
Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse convicted of murdering Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mehdi, is scheduled to be executed on July 16 in Yemen. Samuel Jerome Baskaran, a social worker actively involved in negotiations with Yemeni government officials and the victim’s family, confirmed the development.
“The public prosecutor has issued the execution order to prison authorities. The execution is set for July 16. However, options are still open — the Government of India can step in to help save her life,” he said.
Nimisha was awarded a life sentence in 2020 after she was convicted of killing one Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017. Nimisha has accused Mahdi of fraud and abuse. Take a look at her story.
Born to daily wage labourers, Nimisha trained to become a nurse and moved to Yemen in 2008 for better prospects. She married Tomy Thomas, who hails from Idukki, in 2011. The couple returned to the capital city Sana’a, where they had a daughter.
Fed up with her low income, Nimisha and Tomy decided to set up their own clinic. Since foreigners were not allowed to register their businesses, they looked to partner up with a Yemeni national. Nimisha decided to approach Mahdi, a regular at the clinic she used to work at. This is when things began to go awry.
Fraud and abuse
The owner of the clinic where Nimisha had earlier worked was upset over her new venture. She was forced to ink an ownership deal, where the owner had 33 per cent shares and Mahdi had 67 per cent shares. While the clinic took off, trouble began when Mahdi stopped sharing income with Nimisha. When Nimisha confronted Mahdi, she was tortured, according to family accounts.
Media reports state that Mahdi joined Nimisha during her visit to Kerala in 2015, where he met her husband and stayed at their house. Nimisha’s husband Tomy Thomas and their daughter were also set to return to Yemen later, but could not as a civil war broke out in the country.
Nimisha has alleged that Mahdi took a copy of one of her wedding photographs and later altered it to make it appear as if they were married. Mahdi reportedly began telling his family and clinic staff that they had gotten married while they were in Kerala. When Nimisha complained and the matter reached the court, Mahdi allegedly produced forged documents of their marriage, which were accepted by the court.
Nimisha has also accused Mahdi of physically and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions. Mahdi was repeatedly jailed over Nimisha’s complaints and drug addiction.
The murder
Mahdi was reportedly in possession of Nimisha’s passport, preventing her from returning to India. She would visit Mahdi in jail and demand that he return her papers. This is where a jail official decided to help Nimisha, and allegedly suggested that she sedate him.
In July 2017, Nimisha injected Mahdi with sedatives in order to retrieve her passport. However, he died of an overdose. She sought the help of a fellow Yemeni nurse, who allegedly suggested that they chop up the body and dispose of the parts in a water tank. Though the two went into hiding, the police were able to catch them.
Efforts for release
Nimisha was sentenced to death by a lower court in 2020. Her pleas in appeals courts were rejected. In India, a Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council was formed in 2020 to overturn the death sentence.
In June this year, the Government of India approved a transfer of funds totalling $40,000 to begin negotiations over Nimisha’s release. The family sought to pay diyya or ‘blood money’ to the victim’s kin in exchange for a pardon.
On Monday, however, the President of Yemen approved Nimisha’s death sentence. The sentence will reportedly be executed in a month.
