CNN
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A relative of a war-torn Yemeni death row inmate is competing against time to pass her death sentence on Wednesday in a case that captured Indian media.
Nimisha Priya was sentenced to death for the murder of a former business partner Yemeni citizen whose body was found in a water tank in 2017.
She was given the death penalty by a court in the capital Sanaa in 2020, and her family has fought for her release. It has since been complicated by the lack of formal connections between New Delhi and the Houtis, which has dominated the city since the outbreak of the Civil War in 2014.
With her imminent execution, Indian media has dedicated a considerable amount of coverage to the incident, and human rights groups are asking not to take her to Houthis That’s out.
Amnesty International on Monday urged the Housis to “quickly establish a suspension on all executions and commutes (Priya) and all existing death sentences.”
“The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhumane and degraded punishment.”
Priya, the mother of Kerala household worker, sold the house to fund her daughter’s legal fees, but has been in Yemen for more than a year to encourage negotiations for her release.
She last saw Priya on June 18th, she told CNN. “She was nervous,” Kumar shed tears.
Purya could be tolerant if the victim’s family forgives her and accepts her family’s “Diya” donations in accordance with Yemeni Islamic law.
“I’m optimistic,” said Joseph, an Indian who has lived in Yemen since 1999.
“I have been energizing the efforts here, and by God’s grace we have acquired people who are helping. The Indian government is directly involved and there is no more to say at this point,” he told CNN.
Priya is said to have injected her business partner with a fatal sedative overdose, Joseph said. Her family claims she is acting in self-defense, her business partner is abusive and maintains a passport from her after the national civil war. It broke out.
Her trial was held in Arabic and she was not provided with a translator, Joseph said.
A group of activists and lawyers founded the Save Nimisha Priya Action Council in 2020, raising funds for Priya’s release and negotiating with the victim’s family.
“The negotiations were a challenge,” said activist and council member Rafeek Ravuthar. “The reality is that there is no embassy in India and this country has no mission.”
Rafeeq said about Rs 5 million (nearly $58,000) had been raised so far.
Recently, Kerala’s hometown politicians have called on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step in and support them in securing Priya’s release.
“Given the fact that this is a sympathetic case, I appeal to Prime Minister Hombul to take on the matter,” Kerala Prime Minister Pinarai Vijayan wrote in a letter to Modi.
In February, Indian Foreign State Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh said the government will “recognize its top priority for Indian welfare overseas and provide all possible support to those who have suffered, including the incident.”
He added: “The Indian government provides all possible support in the case. The issue regarding considerations for the release of Ms. Nimisha Priya lies between the deceased and the family of Ms. Nimisha Priya.”
CNN contacted India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
Priya first arrived in Yemen in 2008 and joined the rank of over 2 million people from Kerala, seeking a better livelihood in the Middle East.
According to an activist at the Save Nimisha Priya Council, she hopes to find a job as a nurse at a local hospital, set up her own clinic and build a safer future for her young daughter and husband. However, Yemeni regulations required foreigners to partner with local people to start businesses.
With the support of her husband, Priya opened a clinic in Sanaa in 2014, borrowed from family and friends.
“We were living a normal, happy marriage,” her husband, Tommy Thomas, told CNN. “My wife was very loving, hardworking and loyal to everything she did.”
But her desires were quickly overshadowed by the political conflict and turmoil that has plagued Yemen for decades.
In the same year, the Houthi rebels seized the capital and expelled the internationally recognized Saudi Arabian government. By 2015, anxiety had escalated into a catastrophic civil war, and the country had become fractured and unstable.
For foreigners, deteriorating security situations have made Yemen even more dangerous to live and work. Many people chose to evacuate, but Priya decided to stay. People who support her family say she stayed and decided to save the life and business she was striving for.
India does not maintain formal diplomatic ties with the Houtis and there is no operational embassy in Yemen. All consul and diplomatic issues related to the country will be dealt with instead through the Indian Embassy in Djibouti, across the Red Sea.
CNN contacted the Indian Embassy in Djibouti.
For those working to save Priya, it meant navigating complex communications channels and facing additional hurdles in seeking help, legal aid, or protection while scattered across countries still broken by conflict and instability.
According to Amnesty International, Yemen was one of the top five countries in 2024, with the highest number of executions.
Amnesty has confirmed that Houthis has carried out at least one run in the controlled region in 2024, adding that it could have happened more.
Kumari, Priya’s mother, said, “I am grateful for everyone’s support,” adding that she was able to see Priya over the course of this year.
Priya’s husband and daughter remain in Kerala and wants her release.
“My wife is very good, she’s very loving,” Thomas said. “That’s the only reason I’m with her, I support her and I’ll do that until the very end.”
