Yemen Upholds Death Sentence For Kerala Nurse Nimisha Priya; Convicted For Injecting Sedatives In Bid To Retrieve Passport

In a significant development, the Supreme Court of Yemen has rejected an appeal against the death sentence for Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse from Kerala, who has been imprisoned since 2017 for the murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi.

Priya was convicted of injecting sedatives into Mahdi in an attempt to retrieve her passport from his possession.

The Delhi High Court has urged the Indian government to make a prompt decision within a week on a request from Priya's mother to travel to Yemen.

Despite a travel ban for Indian nationals in place since 2017 due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen, Priya's mother seeks permission to negotiate "blood money" or compensation with Mahdi's family to secure her daughter's release, reported NDTV.

The Centre's lawyer informed the high court that, under a recent notification, the travel ban to Yemen may be relaxed for specific reasons and limited durations.

The "Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council," advocating for Priya's release, approached the high court in 2022, urging the Centre to facilitate diplomatic interventions and negotiations with the victim's family to save Priya's life through payments, following the law of the land.

The high court, however, refrained from issuing an order to negotiate but directed the Centre to pursue legal measures against Priya's conviction.