Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, India, is scheduled for execution on July 16 in Yemen following her conviction for the murder of a Yemeni national. Her case has garnered significant attention from India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) due to its complex legal and diplomatic implications.

Priya, aged 38, was initially sentenced to death by a Yemeni trial court in 2020. This sentence was later affirmed by the Supreme Judicial Council of Yemen in November 2023. Despite the possibility of securing a reprieve through the payment of “blood money” to the victim’s family, time is running out for any such resolution.

The sequence of events leading to this situation began in 2008 when Nimisha Priya moved to Yemen to support her aging parents financially. She worked in various hospitals before establishing her own clinic. In 2014, she entered into a partnership with Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national, as required by local regulations for foreign business owners.

However, their partnership soured by 2016, leading Priya to file a complaint against Mahdi, resulting in his temporary arrest. After his release, Mahdi allegedly continued to harass and threaten Priya. In 2017, an altercation over her confiscated passport led Priya to inject Mahdi with sedatives in an attempt to retrieve it. Unfortunately, the sedative proved fatal, resulting in Mahdi’s death and Priya’s subsequent arrest while attempting to flee Yemen.

In 2018, Priya was convicted of murder. Two years later, she received a death sentence from the trial court. The Supreme Judicial Council upheld this sentence in November 2023, with final approval from Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi later that year.

Efforts to negotiate clemency through diya (blood money) have been unsuccessful. Negotiations stalled due to disputes over pre-negotiation fees and concerns about fund management. Despite her mother Prema Kumari’s desperate attempts and international support efforts, including crowdfunding and advocacy by the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, the victim’s family has not accepted the blood money offer.

Nimisha Priya’s fate now hinges on the victim’s family’s willingness to accept diya, which remains the sole legal alternative to capital punishment under Yemeni law.