Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse hailing from Kollengode in the Palakkad district of Kerala, is currently facing execution in Yemen after being found guilty of murdering a Yemeni citizen in 2017. Although she was initially scheduled to be executed on July 16, the Yemeni authorities have since postponed the execution. The case, which is complicated by geopolitical and legal issues, has garnered urgent diplomatic attention from New Delhi, yet no significant progress has been made. The 37-year-old had traveled to Yemen for employment and now finds herself imprisoned in the capital city of Sana’a, which is governed by the Iran-backed Houthi administration, with which India lacks formal diplomatic relations.
Caught in an abusive relationship
Priya first relocated to Yemen in 2011 to work as a nurse in Sana’a. In 2014, her husband and daughter returned to India due to financial difficulties and escalating civil unrest in the area, while she remained to provide for them.
Subsequently, she entered into a partnership with a Yemeni national, Talal Abdo Mahdi, to establish a clinic — a legal necessity in Yemen for foreign medical practitioners. However, Priya alleges that Mahdi falsified documents to assert that they were married and subjected her to years of physical violence, financial exploitation, and intimidation.
