In a case capturing national attention across India, the family of Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse sentenced to death in Yemen, is making desperate efforts to save her life, following a temporary stay of execution granted just hours before it was set to take place.
Priya was convicted of murdering her former business partner, a Yemeni national, whose body was found in a water tank in 2017.
A court in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, sentenced her to death in 2020. Since then, her family has launched a prolonged campaign for clemency, made even more complex by India’s lack of formal diplomatic ties with the Houthi authorities who control Sanaa amidst ongoing civil unrest.
Her execution was initially scheduled for Wednesday. However, Indian government sources revealed on Tuesday that officials had secured a last-minute reprieve, allowing more time for negotiations.
The case has drawn widespread media coverage in India and prompted appeals from international human rights organizations.
Amnesty International joined the call on Monday, urging the Houthis to spare Priya’s life.
“The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment,” the rights group said in a statement. “The Houthis must establish a moratorium on all executions and commute (Priya’s) and all existing death sentences as first steps.”
Priya’s mother, Prema Kumari, a domestic worker from Kerala, has sold her house to finance legal efforts and has been in Yemen for over a year, directly involved in negotiations with the victim’s family.
“She looked tense,” Kumari said through tears in an interview with CNN, recalling her last visit with her daughter on June 18.
Under Yemen’s Islamic law, death row inmates may receive a pardon if the victim’s family accepts a financial settlement, known as “diyah” or blood money.
Social worker Samuel Joseph, who has been assisting Priya’s family, confirmed that such efforts are ongoing.
“I am optimistic,” said Joseph, an Indian national who has lived in Yemen since 1999. “I’m spiriting the efforts here, and by God’s grace, we got people who are helping. The government of India is directly involved and there’s nothing more I can say at this point of time.”
According to Joseph, Priya allegedly injected her partner with a lethal dose of sedatives. Her family insists she acted in self-defense, claiming the man had abused her and seized her passport, effectively trapping her in Yemen during the war.
He also noted that Priya’s trial was conducted in Arabic, and that she had no access to a translator throughout the proceedings.
To support her legal battle, a coalition of lawyers and activists formed the Save Nimisha Priya Action Council in 2020. Their mission has included fundraising and facilitating dialogue with the deceased’s family.
“Negotiations have been a challenge,” said activist and council member Rafeek Ravuthar. “The reality is that there is no Indian embassy, there is no mission in this country.”
So far, about five million rupees (approximately $58,000) have been raised to support the case.
The situation has drawn political attention back home, with several Kerala lawmakers appealing directly to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Considering the fact this is a case deserving sympathy, I appeal to the Hon’ble Prime Minister to take up the matter,” Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote in a letter to Modi.
India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, told parliament in February that the government continues to prioritize Priya’s case.
“The government accords the highest priority for the welfare of Indians abroad and provides all possible support to those who fall in distress including in the instant case,” he said. “Government of India is providing all possible assistance in the case. The matter regarding any consideration towards the release of Ms. Nimisha Priya is between the family of the deceased and Ms. Nimisha Priya’s family.”
Priya first moved to Yemen in 2008, joining the large population of Keralites seeking better employment opportunities across the Middle East.
She found work as a nurse and dreamed of opening her own clinic to secure a future for her young daughter and husband.
With the financial backing of her family and support from her husband, Tomy Thomas, she opened a medical clinic in Sanaa in 2014, entering a business partnership with a Yemeni citizen, as required by law.
“We lived a normal happy married life,” Thomas told CNN. “My wife was very loving, hardworking and faithful in all that she did.”
However, the same year Priya launched her business, Houthi rebels seized the capital and ousted the Saudi-backed government. The resulting conflict, which escalated into a full-scale civil war in 2015, turned Yemen into one of the most dangerous countries in the world for foreign nationals.
While many fled, Priya chose to stay, determined to maintain her livelihood and protect her investment.
But her continued presence in a nation plagued by violence and instability has come at a grave cost. India, having no diplomatic mission in Yemen, handles consular issues related to the country from its embassy in Djibouti, further complicating support and intervention efforts for distressed nationals like Priya.
Yemen ranks among the top five countries globally for executions in 2024, according to Amnesty International. While only one confirmed execution was carried out in Houthi-controlled areas this year, Amnesty notes that others may have occurred undocumented.
Despite the grim context, Priya’s mother remains grateful for the outpouring of support.
“I am happy I have been able to see Priya over the course of this year,” Kumari said.
Back in Kerala, her husband and daughter continue to hold on to hope.
“My wife is very good, she is very loving,” Thomas said. “That is the sole reason I am with her, supporting her and will do so till the end.”
