Yemen Court's Death Sentence For Kerala Nurse Nimisha Priya Not Ratified By President Rashad Al-Alimi, Clarifies Embassy

The Yemeni capital punishment handed to Indian nurse Nimisha Priya has not been ratified by President Rashad al-Alimi, the Yemen Embassy in New Delhi clarified on Monday (6 January).

The embassy stated that the case has been handled entirely by the Houthi militias, and therefore, the judgment has not received approval from the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council.

Nimisha Priya, a 37-year-old nurse from Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, was convicted of murdering a Yemeni citizen in July 2017. 

She has been imprisoned in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital under the control of Iran-backed Houthis. A trial court sentenced her to death in 2020, a verdict later upheld in November 2023 by Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council.

According to reports, Nimisha Priya allegedly killed Mehdi, her former associate, by “injecting him with sedatives to get her passport that was in his possession,” which he had reportedly taken to prevent her from leaving Yemen.

Priya, who had lived in Yemen for over a decade and worked in private hospitals, opened her own clinic with Mehdi's assistance after her husband and daughter returned to India.

The family of Priya has accused Mehdi of subjecting her to prolonged torture and withholding her passport, restricting her freedom of movement. In a plea filed by her mother, they claimed Mehdi's actions forced Priya into desperation.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has expressed concern and is monitoring the case closely. “We are closely following the developments around the sentencing of Nimisha Priya. The government is extending all possible help in the matter,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday.