Death sentence for Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya: Plea in Yemen court for speedy hearing

As negotiations are underway to release a Kerala nurse who was sentenced to death for allegedly murdering a Yemeni national, the prosecution in the case has approached the court to speed up the hearing of the appeal. The prosecution's move came after a long delay in the case.

Nimisha Priya, a nurse originally from Palakkad, has been imprisoned in the Yemeni capital Sana'a since 2017 for the alleged murder of Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national. The Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council (SNPIACl), which is fighting for her release, continues negotiations, including the possibility of paying blood money for her release.

KR Subhash Chandran, an advocate in the Supreme Court, said steps were being taken to speed up negotiations. He said he was trying to arrange a meeting of Nimisha's mother Priya Prema Mary with Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to get the support of the Union government in the negotiation process. Following the kidnapping of Indian priest Tom Uzhunnalil, the Union government banned citizens from traveling to war-torn Yemen, making direct negotiations difficult. Several people, including businessman Yusuf Ali, offered support in funding the blood money, considering the plight of Priya's eight-year-old daughter and ailing mother. Chandran said all documents related to the case have been submitted to the Yemeni court.

Priya's life was turned upside down in 2017 when Mahdi's body was found dismembered inside a water tank. In 2015, Priya partnered with Mahdi to set up a clinic in Yemen, as the country allowed only its nationals to set up business firms. However, Mahdi allegedly started torturing Priya and took ownership of the clinic through manipulation. After her attempts to seek police help failed, Priya sought the support of a local prison warden to pacify Mahdi to retrieve her passport, which he had withheld from her. According to the petition filed by SNPIACl, sedation did not work on Mahdi, who was a drug user. "She tried to sedate him again, using a stronger sedative to get her passport, but he died within minutes," the petition said.

According to her family, Priya was not responsible for disposing of the body. However, the court ordered the death sentence because of the way the body was cut into pieces for disposal.