India extends help to Nimisha Priya, a nurse who's facing death sentence in Yemen

New Delhi: The Indian government has reaffirmed its commitment to assisting Nimisha Priya, a Kerala nurse who has been sentenced to death in Yemen. "We are closely following the developments," said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal.

While addressing the weekly briefing on Friday, Jaiswal stated, "Regarding the Nimisha Priya case, we are closely following the developments... The government is extending all possible help in the matter. We will see how this goes forward from here."

Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed its awareness of the death sentence handed to Nimisha Priya and assured that the government is providing all possible assistance.

MEA responds to media queries

In response to media queries regarding the case of Nimisha Priya, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We are aware of the sentencing of Ms. Nimisha Priya in Yemen. We understand that the family of Ms. Priya is exploring relevant options. The government is extending all possible help in the matter."

Nimisha Priya, who was sentenced to death in Yemen, is a trained nurse and had worked in private hospitals in Yemen for a few years. Her husband and minor daughter returned to India in 2014 due to financial reasons, and in that same year, Yemen was gripped by civil war, preventing them from returning as the country stopped issuing new visas.

Later in 2015, Nimisha partnered with Mahdi to set up her clinic in Yemen's capital city, Sana'a. She sought Mahdi's support because, under Yemen's law, only nationals are allowed to set up clinics and businesses. 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 Nimisha, which he later manipulated to claim that he was married to her.

Harassment and manipulation of ownership

A plea filed by Nimisha Priya's mother stated, "After a while, Nimisha's clinic began, but Mahdi manipulated the ownership documents of the clinic. He also began to take money from her monthly earnings, claiming that Nimisha was his wife." Nimisha had alleged that Mahdi had been harassing her and her family for years. Mahdi also seized her passport to ensure she could not leave Yemen. He tortured her under the influence of drugs and threatened her at gunpoint several times. He took all the money from the clinic and her ornaments."

Legal struggles and increasing torture

The plea further alleged that, unable to cope with the torture, Nimisha complained to the police in Sana'a, but instead of taking action against Mahdi, the police arrested her and put her in jail for six days. It was further alleged that upon her return from jail, the severity of the torture increased manifold. In July 2017, Nimisha sought the help of a warden from a jail located near her clinic.

The warden suggested that she try to sedate Mahdi and then convince him to give her passport. However, sedation did not affect Mahdi, who was a substance abuser. She attempted to sedate him again using a stronger sedative in order to retrieve her passport, but he died within a few minutes due to a drug overdose.