The death sentence of an Indian nurse who killed a Yemeni national in 2014, was upheld by a court in Yemen. The woman, Nimishapriya from Kerala, was found guilty of murdering Talal Abdu Mahdi, chopping his body into several parts and stuffing them in sacks, before dumping them in a water tank above their house in Al Deydh. Another nurse, who helped her with the murder, was sentenced to imprisonment for life.
The crime came to light as local residents complained of a foul smell emanating from the water tank. However, Nimisha who hails from Kollengode in Palakkad district had said that she had been forced to kill the man as she could not stand his torture anymore.
In 2018, before her death sentence was pronounced, Nimisha had written a letter to the Kerala government saying that she was being tortured by Talal and therefore, had to resort to murder. In the letter, Nimisha said that Talal, with whom she had started a clinic in 2014, had forged a marriage certificate to claim that she was his wife. She alleged that he used to pocket all revenue from its operations, and also defrauded her, besides physically threatening and sexually assaulting her, according to reports. She also said that he seized her passport and was not allowing her to leave.
Nimisha had first married a man named Tomy Thomas in June 2011 and the two of them travelled to Yemen. Later, the husband and the couple's child returned to Kerala.
In 2018, following the intervention of Kerala government and India's Ministry of External Affairs, a lawyer was appointed by the Indian Embassy. The Kerala government had sought for a pardon. It was also around this time that she was shifted out of the Al Bayda jail, which is meant for death row prisoners, and lodged in a jail in Yemen’s capital.
The family of the deceased had asked for Rs 70 lakh to pardon her. Media reports suggest that Nimisha was not in touch with her family back in India for the last few years.