Image Source tosshub
On Monday, the government informed the Supreme Court that it has limited options to prevent the execution of Kerala-based nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen.
“The government has limited capabilities…considering the sensitivity of Yemen…it is not diplomatically recognized,” stated AG Venkataramani, the government’s legal representative, as reported by Live Law.
These comments were made during a hearing regarding a petition that sought government intervention to halt the execution scheduled for July 16.
While the government indicated that it was making efforts to assist Nimisha through private channels, it acknowledged that its influence has limits.
“There is a limit to what the Government of India can do. We have reached that limit. Yemen is not comparable to other regions. We did not wish to complicate matters by going public; we are working at a private level,” the counsel explained to the Supreme Court.
The petitioner, however, urged the government to engage in negotiations with the family of the murder victim in Yemen. Nimisha’s family has proposed ₹8.6 crore as ‘blood money’ to the victim’s family, a provision recognized under Yemen’s Sharia law.
Nevertheless, the government informed the Supreme Court that blood money negotiations are private matters, adding that it is making efforts through private channels with “some Sheikh and influential individuals there.”
Nimisha Priya, who hails from Palakkad district in Kerala, is currently on death row in Yemen for an alleged murder, with her execution date set for June 16.
She is presently incarcerated in a prison controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis, with whom India has no diplomatic relations. Addressing its limitations in addressing the situation, the government also conveyed to the Supreme Court that there is no way to ascertain the current circumstances in Yemen.
Nimisha Priya relocated to Yemen with her family in 2011 for employment, but her husband and daughter returned to India three years later due to financial difficulties.
Nimisha chose to remain in Yemen to support her family and decided to establish a clinic, partnering with a Yemeni national named Talal Abdo Mahdi.
However, it is alleged that Mahdi later physically assaulted and threatened her, as well as confiscated her passport. In an attempt to gain possession of her passport and escape Yemen, Nimisha attempted to sedate Mahdi, but the dosage proved fatal.
Since then, Nimisha has been charged with the murder of Mahdi and was sentenced to death in 2020. Currently, last-minute efforts are being made as Nimisha’s execution is scheduled for July 16.
The case has been rescheduled for a hearing on Friday, July 18.
(Newsroom staff only edited this story for style from a syndicated feed)
