A plea was filed in the Delhi High Court on Saturday, March 12, seeking the Union government's intervention in the case of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who was sentenced to death by a Yemeni court, in connection with the murder of a Yemini citizen five years ago. The plea filed through Advocate Subhash Chandran KR, by 'Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council', prayed for the High Court's direction to the Union government to facilitate negotiations with the family of the victim on behalf of the nurse to save her life by paying blood money -- compensation paid by an offender or his kin to the family of the victim -- in accordance with the law in Yemen.
The plea further said that due to the socio-political situation in Yemen, travel to the country is not allowed and there is no way for her family or well-wishers to visit Yemen and pay blood money to secure her release.
"It is come to know from the lawyer who represented her before the appeal court that the option for "blood money" is kept open by the appeal court. A copy of the judgment is yet to be received and the limitation for appeal before the Supreme Judicial Council is 40 days only. If the appeal before the Supreme Judicial Council is dismissed, execution may take place any time," the plea read.
Nimisha stands accused of the murder of a Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017, by injecting him with sedatives to get her passport that he possessed, to prevent her from returning to India.
Nimisha had taken the help of Mahdi to set up her clinic in Yemen in 2015. Her husband and child who had gone to Kerala could not return as the civil war broke out in Yemen and the country stopped issuing new visas. Nimisha had told TNM that Mahdi started harassing her at this time. Mahdi allegedly brutally tortured and abused Nimisha. He also allegedly forged documents to show that he was married to her.
On March 7, a Yemen court had dismissed the appeal of Nimisha Priya in the murder case in which she, along with another person, is the prime accused.
“Nimisha Priya, after her sentence by a trial court in 2020, had filed an appeal against the death penalty in an appeal court in the Yemen capital Sana’a. However, the appeal court has upheld the death sentence. Though another chance of appeal to the Supreme Court/Supreme Judicial Council still exists, Nimisha Priya is likely to be spared the punishment awarded by the lower court for the 2017 murder,” the petition to Delhi High Court, submitted on March 13, read.
The petition further read, “She can hope to come out of the death row even now only if the victim’s family accepts blood money and she managed to get relief from legal procedures. Now the only way for her to escape from the death penalty is to gain pardon from the family of the deceased by paying blood money to the family in accordance with the law of the land. It is come to know from the lawyer who represented her before the appeal court that the option for blood money is kept open by the appeal court.”
Along with the petition, news stories including that of The News Minute that have elaborated Nimisha’s ordeal were also submitted. The petition cited that Nimisha’s only child, a nine-year-old girl, is living in an orphanage, while her mother is a domestic help in Ernakulam and husband is an autorickshaw driver.
“It’s pertinent to mention that even after the appeal judgment whereby the sentence to death is upheld, the negotiations are not started yet with the victim’s family. Neither Nimisha’s family members nor the members of the petitioner organisation are able to travel to Yemen for negotiations as at present as the respondents have declared a travel ban for Indians to Yemen since 2016. In this context, strong and timely interventions are highly warranted considering the current socio-political situations in Yemen. The Petitioner and Nimisha’s family are facing serious challenges to deal with the on-going legal process there,” the petition noted.
‘Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council’ has been formed to help Nimisha in Yemen. It consists of Non-resident Keralites- Indians working in different countries as well as in India.