India on Friday provided an update on the case of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who is facing the death penalty in Yemen for killing a Yemeni.
“We are following closely what is happening in the case of Nimisha Priya. The government is extending all possible help to this matter. We will see how this progresses from here,” said the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Randhir Jaiswal, during the meeting. press conference.
Priya, a native of Kerala’s Palakkad district, was arrested for the murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mehdi in July 2017. On December 30 of last year, Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi approved the death sentence of Nimisha Priya, who has been convicted. in prison since 2017.
Sanaa’s criminal court sentenced him to death in 2020 and his appeal was rejected by Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023.
However, the option of paying blood money was kept open. His release depends on the family of the victim, Talal Abdo Mehdi, and their tribal leader forgiving him. His death sentence could be revoked if the family of the deceased would forgive him and accept blood money.
Similar discussions were going on. However, they were put on hold after the payment of the lawyer appointed on behalf of Priya was delayed. The lawyer had demanded USD 40,000 in two installments as pre-interview costs. He refused to proceed unless he was given all the money.
Nimisha Priya’s mother Prema Kumari went to Yemen in April 2024 and met her daughter in prison for the first time in 11 years. Since then, her mother has been in the Gulf country trying to secure her daughter’s release.