Who is Nimisha Priya?

Brut India

This Indian-origin nurse was sentenced to death for murder in Yemen and is now desperately fighting for her freedom, with her execution just a month away. Here's what happened...

Transcript

00:00I didn't mean to kill him," said this Kerala nurse who was sentenced to death in Yemen

00:04after allegedly killing a Yemeni citizen. The death sentence was also approved by Yemen's

00:09president. Her only hope for survival depended on whether the victim's family decided to forgive her.

00:14Nimisha Priya from Palakkar district in Kerala moved to Yemen in 2008 to financially support

00:20her parents, who were daily wage labourers. Three years later, she married Tommy Thomas in Kerala

00:26and they both moved back to Yemen. Nimisha worked as a nurse while Tommy worked as an electrician.

00:31Nimisha wanted to open her own clinic. But under Yemen's laws,

00:35foreign nationals were required to have local partners in order to start a business.

00:40So, Nimisha thought of approaching Talal Abdo Mehdi, who was a regular visitor at one of the

00:44clinics she used to work at. But then she sought help from Abdul Lateer, the owner of the clinic

00:49where she had worked. Initially, Abdul was opposed to Nimisha opening her own clinic

00:54and caused some trouble. However, he eventually agreed to invest in her clinic in exchange for a

00:5933% share. In 2015, Talal also travelled to Kerala to attend the baptism of Nimisha's daughter.

01:05Afterward, Nimisha returned to Yemen and opened her clinic in April. But her husband and daughter

01:10had to stay in Kerala due to the civil war in Yemen, which began in 2014 and because the country

01:16stopped issuing new visas. Nimisha said, The clinic kicked off really well. Within one month,

01:21I got a good income. Talal had helped me with a few things like collecting material and with

01:26some money too. But things began to turn sour between Talal and Nimisha. Nimisha told the

01:31News Minute, My income, however, jolted Talal. He came up with the demand that I need to pay him a

01:36share of the income. He started to assert himself in matters related to the clinic. He even registered

01:42the vehicles we bought for the clinic in his name. Talal had also added his name as a shareholder

01:47when they were preparing the papers to include Abdul Latif in the clinic and Nimisha said she

01:52was unaware about it. Talal started taking Nimisha's monthly share from the clinic. When

01:56Nimisha questioned the clinic manager regarding the issue, he said that Talal told him that she

02:01was his wife. When Nimisha confronted Talal, he explained that he said it to prevent others from

02:06causing trouble, thinking she was a single woman. Nimisha said, I knew he was already married. Still,

02:11he kept saying, we are married and everyone in the hospital seemed to believe him. She alleged

02:16that Talal took one of her wedding photos and tampered with it to make it look like they were

02:21married. When Nimisha took the issue to court, Talal showed fake marriage documents and the court

02:26accepted them. Nimisha said, He started to attack me physically. Even in front of the hospital

02:31staff. He used to thrash me and even spit on me. It became unbearable. He confiscated my passport.

02:37He forced me to live with him. He would come to my house inebriated and attack me physically,

02:42threaten me to obey him and inflict injuries on me. He used to even bring his friends to

02:46my house at night and force me to do sexual favours for them. I used to run out each time

02:51to protect myself. Due to the ongoing abuse, Talal was repeatedly jailed following Nimisha's

02:56complaints and for other frauds he had committed. While he was in jail, Nimisha would visit him

03:00regularly, insisting that he return her documents. Eager to get her passport back,

03:04Nimisha sought help from a jail warden, who advised her to sedate Talal and retrieve her

03:10documents. In July 2017, while Talal was in Nimisha's house doing drugs, she injected him

03:15with a sedative. But things took a dark turn when Talal stopped breathing. Nimisha said he fell on

03:21the floor and started to scream out loud. But suddenly he stopped and laid still. There was

03:26no breath when I checked his pulse. I was afraid I had not meant to kill him. Talal had died due

03:31to an overdose. Nimisha added that she panicked and took tablets for her anxiety attack, while

03:36her fellow nurse, Hanan, allegedly dismembered Talal's body and hid the parts in a water tank.

03:42The following month, Hanan and Nimisha were arrested. In 2020, Nimisha was found guilty

03:48and was sentenced to death, while Hanan was sentenced to life imprisonment. That same year,

03:53in India, a group called the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council was formed to help

03:58overturn the sentence. In 2023, her mother Prema Kumari went to the Yemeni Supreme Court to

04:04challenge the death sentence, but their appeal was rejected. That same year in November,

04:09the government of India approved a payment of $40,000 to start negotiations for Nimisha's

04:15release. Her family was also ready to give blood money to the victim's family in exchange for a

04:20pardon. Now, what's blood money? Under Islamic law, the victim's family has the authority to

04:25decide the punishment for the accused. They can choose to forgive the accused in exchange for a

04:30monetary compensation. The amount is usually determined through negotiation between the

04:34families of the victim and the accused. However, some Islamic countries have established minimum

04:39compensation amounts. After the President of Yemen sanctioned Nimisha's death sentence on

04:4438 December 2024, the Ministry of External Affairs responded the next day, saying,

04:50We are aware of the sentencing of Ms. Nimisha Priya in Yemen. We understand that the family

04:54of Priya is exploring relevant options. The government is extending all possible help in

04:59this matter. The Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council was raising funds for her release

05:04and trying to persuade the victim's family to forgive her. Nimisha could reportedly be executed

05:09in a month.

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