Can't leave her on death row in Yemen and return home: Nimisha Priya's mother

It has been more than a week since the postponement of the planned execution of Indian national Nimisha Priya in Yemen. While the indefinite postponement of execution is being seen as a temporary relief among those working to save Priya, the matter continues to be delicate, as Priya has not been pardoned. Complicating matters further, the victim's family, which has the power to pardon Priya, has been firm in their stance that Priya deserves to be punished for murdering their family member. As uncertainty prevails over Nimisha's fate, her mother,Premakumari, has shared a teary-eyed plea.

Premakumari had travelled from her hometown in Kerala, India, to Sanaa, Yemen, back in April 2024. The senior citizen is being supported in Yemen by Indian national Samuel Jerome, who is the Power of Attorney Holder of Nimisha's family. In her video message, Premakumari emphasises that she had travelled to Yemen after a long wait of seven years, hoping that she could return to her hometown with her daughter(after obtaining a pardon). In Yemen, Premakumari says she had met Priya on multiple occasions.

However, as uncertainty prevails over Priya's safe return and the apprehensions that she could be executed, Premakumari says that she cannot leave her daughter behind in Yemen and return to Kerala. "I am not sitting here because anyone forced me to.. I am here because I need to save my daughter(from the gallows).. I have had a chance to meet her a few times", she adds.

Referring to the situation back at home in Kerala, Kumari says that Nimisha has a school-going daughter who is waiting for her return. My happiness lies in the hope that we will be able to save my daughter and reunite her with her schoolgoing daughter.

About Nimisha Priya and her case

Hailing from a poor family in Kerala's Palakkad district,Nimishawent to Yemen in 2008 and worked as a nurse in a Government-run hospital in Sana'a. Eyeing better earning opportunities, she quit her job and started her clinic.

Nimisha's India-based lawyer Subhash Chandan maintains thatPriyaand another woman had started a clinic with Yemeni national Talal, who had later subjected the women to physical and mental abuse, confiscated their passports. In a desperate bid to escape the abuse and flee, it is said thatPriyaand the Yemeni woman had drugged Talal, which is suspected to have led to his death. The case got further complicated after Talal's mutilated body was found by the authorities in Yemen.Nimisha's lawyer maintains that she was only responsible for drugging the abuser and that she isn't aware of what transpired after her escape bid.

Since 2017, India strictly prohibited its nationals from travelling to Yemen, owing to the deteriorating internal security situation there. Only those with special permission from the Indian Government can undertake travel to Yemen, for others it is a punishable offence.

On receiving a go-ahead from the Supreme Court of India, the Nimisha Priya International Action Council, an organisation fighting to save Priya, has approached the Indian Government to permit a delegation to travel to Yemen. They hope that this delegation will be able to negotiate with the deceased victim's family and obtain a pardon. However, this is widely perceived as a major challenge, owing to the victim's family's unwillingness to pardon Priya and accept Blood Money for sparing her life.