Nimisha Priya, the Indian nurse who has been sentenced to death in Yemen for the murder of a Yemeni national back in 2017, has been in Prison for over 6 years.
As per reports, She still remains unaware that Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi sanctioned her execution order on December 30, 2024.
For more than six years now, Priya, an Indian nurse, has been confined in the prison in Yemen, and, despite the scarce communication with her family, Priya continues to maintain contact, albeit with more and more difficulties due to increased security measures of the Yemeni authorities in the prison.
Recent Communication with Family
In recent communications from jail, Nimisha Priya reached out to her husband Tomy Thomas and Action Council member Babu John via WhatsApp audio messages.
In these rare interactions, Priya inquired about the wellbeing of her daughter, her mother, and her husband, besides asking about the members of the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, who have been her pillars of support through this long ordeal.
Priya was not informed about the execution order despite her curiosity over the fact that her case was at this crucial stage of execution. In one of the conversations, she asked for an explanation on what she called the “critical stage,” but after hearing that more information could not be provided, she sounded incomprehensively scared.
Frequency of calls reduced
The frequency of Priya’s calls has drastically reduced in the past few days due to security measures being enforced at the Central Prison in the capital city of Yemen, Sanaa. It is getting difficult for them to keep in touch regularly.
‘Blood Money’
While these are extremely poor prospects, hope continues to be expressed by the family and human rights activists in Kerala that there might still be a way for clemency through blood money (diya) that is allowed under Islamic law. It may be the sole way to save Priya’s life again, if the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi accepts the blood money and forgives her.
As part of the continuous efforts to ensure a reprieve, Priya’s supporters have already paid the amount for the blood money settlement, which amounts to $40,000.
Tomy Thomas has been the emotional and financial support system for the family, raising funds through various channels and working with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to explore options for intervention. He expressed grave concern over the dwindling number of calls from his wife.
“Our daughter is growing up without her mother, and I am barely able to talk to her.”. The authorities have cut her calls drastically, and the fear of not knowing what is going on with her in unbearable,” he said.
Priya’s mother, Prema Kumari, who too has been staying in Sanaa and is still trying to persuade Mahdi’s family to consider their case, is no less grief-stricken by the scenario.
“The lesser the communication, the tougher everything becomes. We are forced to cling on to the hope that something can be done in time. My daughter has just a few days left,” said an emotionally appealing Prema Kumari in her address to the Indian government and the masses at large.
