The Indian government on Tuesday said it was providing all necessary assistance to Nimisha Priya and her family. Nimisha, who is from Kerala, has been on death row in Yemen for murder and her execution was postponed just a day before it scheduled to take place on July 16. Read on to know more.
Nimisha, a 38-year-old from Kerala’s Palakkad district, trained as a nurse and moved to Yemen in 2008.
The Indian government on Tuesday said it was providing all necessary assistance to nurse Nimisha Priya and her family. Nimisha, who is from Kerala, has been on death row in Yemen for murder and her execution was postponed just a day before it scheduled to take place on July 16. Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) called the case “sensitive” and said the government was in contact with “friendly” states to deal with the situation.
What did Jaiswal say?
Jaiswal said while addressing a press conference, “This is a sensitive matter and the government of India has been offering all possible assistance in the case. We have provided legal assistance and appointed a lawyer to assist the family. We have also arranged regular consular visits and been in constant touch with the local authorities and the family members to resolve the issue.” He added that efforts have been made to secure more time for Nimisha’s family to arrive at a solution with the victim’s family. “We continue to closely follow the matter and render all possible assistance,” he told reporters.
What is Nimisha Priya’s case?
Nimisha, a 38-year-old from Kerala’s Palakkad district, trained as a nurse and moved to Yemen in 2008. After working at several hospitals, Nimisha opened her clinic in partnership with Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2014, as rules there mandate partnering with a local for starting a business. But Nimisha had a fallout with Mahdi, after which she filed a complaint against him. Mahdi, who was arrested but eventually released from jail, continued to threaten her. Nimisha’s family says that she had injected Mahdi with sedatives in an attempt to recover her confiscated passport. However, an overdose of the sedatives led to his death. She was arrested while attempting to flee the country and was convicted of murder in 2018. Nimisha is currently lodged in a jail in Yemeni capital Sana’a.
