Sedatives, torture, and a clinic gone wrong: How Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya landed on Yemen’s death row for killing alleged abuser | World News

But what came over the next few years was a tragic descent into entrapment, violence, and eventually, death row.

A dangerous partnership

It was October 2014 when Nimisha met Talal Abdo Mehdi, a young Yemeni man whose family frequented the clinic where she worked. As per her later written account, Talal seemed eager to help — he was intrigued by India, and Nimisha saw in him a way to navigate the red tape that often hinders foreigners trying to start businesses in Yemen. The country’s laws required local sponsorship for foreign-owned clinics, so she asked Talal to help with the formalities. She gave him 6 lakh Yemeni riyals, a significant sum, to pay the landlord and secure permits.

In January 2015, she travelled back to Kerala briefly for her daughter’s baptism, accompanied by Talal. She returned to Yemen a month later with more funds, raised by her husband. But soon after, as the Yemeni civil war escalated, India imposed a travel ban, and Nimisha was effectively stranded.

Despite the war, her dream clinic opened in April 2015. That’s when the nightmare began.

Allegations of abuse

According to Nimisha and her family, Talal’s role quickly shifted from partner to predator. He allegedly falsified documents to claim a 33 per cent stake in the clinic, seized her passport, and even forged a marriage certificate to suggest they were legally wed.

Nimisha alleged that Mahdi took a copy of one of her wedding photographs and later altered it to make it appear as if they were married. Mahdi reportedly began telling his family and clinic staff that they had gotten married while they were in Kerala. When Nimisha complained and the matter reached the court, Mahdi allegedly produced forged documents of their marriage, which were accepted by the court.

Nimisha filed a police complaint, leading to both of them being briefly jailed. Nimisha has also accused Mahdi of physically and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions. Mahdi was repeatedly jailed over Nimisha’s complaints and drug addiction. In February 2016, a court returned her property and clinic documents.

But freedom didn’t last. Talal was soon imprisoned in another fraud case. Nimisha, desperate to get her passport back and reclaim some normalcy, began visiting him in jail, asking him to hand over her documents and sign the divorce papers she said would nullify the false marriage.

Then, in July 2017, one such visit turned fatal.

In July 2017, Nimisha, during a jail visit, injected Mahdi with sedatives in order to retrieve her passport. However, he died of an overdose. She sought the help of a fellow Yemeni nurse, who allegedly suggested that they chop up the body and dispose of the parts in a water tank. Though the two went into hiding, the police were able to catch them.

But the consequences were swift and severe.

She was arrested and tried in Yemen. In 2020, a local court sentenced her to death, not once, but three times. An appeals court later struck down one of the sentences, and the country’s Supreme Court upheld the remaining two.

She is currently lodged in Sanaa Central Jail. In January this year, Mahdi al-Mashat, president of the Houthi-controlled Supreme Political Council, approved the execution. Her sentence is scheduled to be carried out on 16 July 2025.

A last chance of survival

Under Yemen’s Sharia-based judicial system, the only path left is securing a pardon from the victim’s family in exchange for diyya, or blood money. Nimisha’s family and supporters have offered $1 million to Mahdi’s relatives.

The Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council — a support group formed in 2020 — has spearheaded efforts to save her life. Aided by donations and crowdfunding, the council raised the $1 million and nominated Samuel Jerome, a social worker based in Yemen, to negotiate with the victim’s family.

Nimisha’s mother, a poor domestic worker from Kerala, travelled to Yemen in April 2024 in a final attempt to plead with Mahdi’s family. The campaigners are still waiting for either a pardon or alternative demands to be made by the victim’s relatives.

“The execution date has been conveyed by the director general of prosecution to jail authorities. We are still trying to save her,” said Babu John, a social activist associated with the council, quoted BBC. “But ultimately the family has to agree for a pardon.”

The Supreme Court of India on Thursday agreed to hear the Nimisha’s case on July 14 and asked the Centre to apprise it about any steps that it may have taken regarding the case.

Now, all she can do is wait — for a pardon, for a miracle, or for a final verdict she cannot escape.