Indian nurse awarded death sentence in Yemen, plea in Delhi High Court seeks deplomatic intervention
A petition in Delhi High Court has sought the Indian Government's diplomatic intervention on behalf of Nimisha Priya a Nurse who has been sentenced to death for the murder of a Yemeni national in 2017.
The plea has stated, "Nimisha stands accused of the murder of Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national, who died in July 2017 after Nimisha injected him with sedatives to get to her passport that was in his possession. Nimisha had alleged abuse and torture by Mahdi."
It has been informed to High Court that Nimisha, after her sentence by a trial court in 2020, had filed an appeal against the death penalty in an appeal court in the Yemen capital Sana‟a. However, the appeal court has upheld the death sentence.
In addition to this, the plea further stated that "Though another chance of appeal to the Supreme Court / Supreme Judicial Council still exists, Nimisha Priya is unlikely to be spared the punishment awarded by the lower court for the 2017 murder. The apex court rarely sets aside the verdict of the appeal' court as it will only examine if any procedural errors affected the outcome of the case, not its merits."
The plea has sought direction for the Central Government to facilitate diplomatic interventions as well as negotiations with the family of the victim on behalf of Nimisha to save her life by paying blood money in accordance with the law of the land in a time-bound manner.
It has been submitted that "In 2015, she joined hands with Mahdi to set up her own clinic in Yemen's capital city Sanaa. She sought Mahdi's support because, under Yemen law, only nationals are allowed to set up clinics and business firms. In 2015 Mahdi accompanied Nimisha Priya to Kerala when she came on 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. Later the ties between the duo deteriorated and Mahdi tortured her. After she started the clinic, Mahadi started cornering all the revenue. He became hostile when Nimisha questioned him about the embezzlement. He later threatened her, forged documents to marry her as per his religion, and brutally tortured her"
The plea has alleged that "The harassment then became to physical torture. Soon, Nimisha's life turned into a hell. Mahdi 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."
In addition to this, the plea has further sought direction to immediately initiate necessary steps for filing a formal appeal before the Supreme Court / Supreme Judicial Council to save the life of Nimisha in accordance with the law of Yemen.
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