Mahdi al-Mashat, president of the rebel Houthis' Supreme Political Council, approved the death sentence for Indian national Nimisha Priya earlier this week, according to multiple media reports.
Priya, 34, is accused of murdering her business partner Talal Abdo Mahdi, whom her husband Tony Thomas accused of physically torturing her, according to BBC News. The Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council said that Mahdi allegedly threatened Priya with a gun.
Mahdi’s chopped-up body was reportedly discovered in a water tank in 2017. Houthi investigations found that he was allegedly killed by an overdose of sedatives.
Priya, a nurse who opened a clinic with Mahdi, claimed in court that she had not intended to kill him - just sedate him so she could retrieve her passport and money that Mahdi allegedly took from her.
CNBC reported that her business partner misrepresented himself to authorities, claiming to be her husband.Priya’s main hope now rests on Mahdi’s family pardoning her for the death, relying on a clause in Sharia Islamic law, according to the BBC.
Attempts to save Priya
Trying to buy Priya’s release, her family is reportedly raising diyah (blood money) to give to Mahdi’s family. The family has raised $40,000, which has been passed to lawyers hired by the Indian government to represent Priya.
Progress stalled on Priya’s case as a lawyer paid by India to represent her demanded a pre-negotiation payment of $20,000.
"If they say they do not want to or can pardon her, the sentence would be immediately stopped," Samuel Jerome, a Yemen-based social worker who holds a power of attorney on behalf of Nimisha's mother told the BBC. "Forgiveness is the first step. Whether the family accepts the blood money comes only after that."
"For the past seven years, we have been trying every possible legal way to seek pardon and bring Nimisha home alive. Our child was just two years old when this happened,” Priya’s husband told CNBC News18. “She has seen her photographs and speaks over video calls, but she needs the support and love of a mother. We are hoping that we can connect to the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi and find a solution. We are ready to offer diya in return for the life of my wife."
Tehran officials have also promised to “take up” Priya’s case, The Hindu reported. A similar report by the Hindustan Times claimed Saudi Arabia had also become involved in her case.
Our response to media queries regarding the case of Ms. Nimisha Priya:https://t.co/DlviLboqKG pic.twitter.com/tSgBlmitCy
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) December 31, 2024
At the end of December, India’s external affairs industry said the Indian government was “aware of the sentencing of Ms. Nimisha Priya in Yemen. We understand that the family of Ms. Priya is exploring relevant options” and “The government is extending all possible help in the matter.”
In July, the ministry said the “Government accords the highest priority for the welfare of Indians abroad and provides all possible support to those who fall in distress, including in the instant case. The government of India is providing all possible assistance in the case, including seeking consular access to Mrs. Nimisha Priya in jail and providing a lawyer to represent her case from the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF).
“The matter regarding the payment of blood money towards the release of Mrs. Nimisha Priya is between the family of the deceased and Mrs. Nimisha Priya's family.”