New Delhi: A day after Yemen President Rashad Muhammed al-Alimi approved the death sentence for Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said it is extending all possible help to explore relevant options in the case of the Indian nurse facing death sentence in Yemen.
“We are aware of the sentencing of Ms. Nimisha Priya in Yemen. We understand that the family of Priya is exploring relevant options,” MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said while responding to media queries regarding the case. “The government is extending all possible help in the matter,” he added.
Randhir Jaiswal’s Tweet:
Priya’s release is depended on the family of the victim, Talal Abdo Mehdi, and their tribal leader. She can also be released if Mahdi’s family and their tribal leader forgive her. Priya death sentence could be waived only if the Mahdi’s family pardoned her and accepted blood money instead, reported India Today.
Priya, who is sentenced to death in Yemen, is a trained nurse and has worked in private hospitals in Yemen for a few years, reported ANI.
Her husband and minor daughter returned to India in 2014 because of financial reasons and in that same year, Yemen was gripped by civil war, and they could not go back as the country stopped issuing new visas.
All About The Case:
Later in 2015, Priya joined hands with a Mahdi to set up her clinic in Yemen’s capital city Sana. Notably, under Yemen’s law, only nationals are allowed to set up clinics and business firms. Due to this reason, she sought Mahdi’s support. In 2015, Mahdi accompanied Nimisha Priya to Kerala when she came for a month-long holiday. During the visit, he stole a wedding photograph of Priya, which he later manipulated to claim that he was married to her, reported the news agency.
A plea moved by mother of Nimisha Priya had stated, “After a while, Nimisha’s clinic began, Mahdi manipulated the ownership documents of the clinic. He also began to take money out of her monthly earnings after telling everyone that Nimisha was his wife. Nimisha had alleged that Mahdi had been harassing her and her family for years. Mahdi also seized her passport. This was done to ensure that she would not leave Yemen. He tortured her under the influence of drugs. He threatened her at gunpoint several times. He took all the money from the clinic and her ornaments.”
The plea further alleged that unable to cope with the torture, Nimisha complained to the police in Sana but instead of taking action against Mahdi, the police arrested her and put her in jail for six days. It was further alleged that on her return from jail, the severity of the torture increased manifold.
In July 2017, Nimisha took the help of a warden of a jail located near her clinic. The warden suggested that she should try to sedate him, and then convince him to give her passport. However, sedation did not affect Mahdi, who was a substance abuser. She tried sedating him again, using a stronger sedative in order to retrieve her passport but he died within a few minutes due to a drug overdose.
(With inputs from ANI)
