Nimisha Priya case: With just two days left in execution, Kerala CM urges PM Modi to 'save life' of Indian nurse imprisoned in Yemen

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding his intervention after the Centre told the Supreme Court it could not “do much” regarding the execution of the Kerala nurse, Nimisha Priya, who is facing the death penalty in Yemen. Kerala CM Vijayan took to his social media platform X to share the letter in which he reiterated to PM Modi to intervene to save her life.

“Wrote to Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji urging urgent intervention to secure the release of Nimisha Priya, who remains imprisoned in Yemen. The Govt of Kerala stands firmly with all those working towards her exoneration and safe return,” Pinarayi Vijayan said in a post on X.

He wrote on his post on X with his letter that he submitted a formal appeal to the Prime Minister, citing the imminent threat to the life of Priya.

Watch: Nimisha Priya case: India Supreme Court to hear plea on Monday

“Kindly find enclosed my letter dated March 24, 2025, to the Union Minister for External Affairs. It is learnt from the Media that the execution of Smt. Nimisha Priya Tomy Thomas has been fixed for July 16, 2025. Considering the fact that this is a case deserving sympathy, I appeal to the Hon'ble Prime Minister to take up the matter and intervene with the authorities concerned to save the life of Nimisha Priya," the Kerala CM wrote in a letter dated Sunday.

Who is Nimisha Priya?

Nimisha Priya is a 37-year-old Indian nurse, a resident of the Palakkad district of Kerala. She is currently facing death row for the murder of a Yemeni national, and her conviction by a Yemeni trial court was upheld by the Supreme Judicial Council of the country in November 2023.

Currently, Nimisha Priya is lodged in a prison controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis, with whom India has no diplomatic ties, according to a report in HT.

Nimisha Priya moved to Yemen with her family in 2011, but her husband and daughter returned to India in 2014 due to the civil unrest in the country. She remained in Yemen to support her family. Under Yemeni law, foreign medical professionals must partner with a local to open a clinic, this is where Talal Abdo Mahdi came in.

Nimisha entered a partnership with Mahdi, who allegedly forged documents claiming they were married, seized her passport, and subjected her to years of abuse, financial exploitation, and threats.

In 2017, Nimisha tried to sedate Mahdi in an attempt to retrieve her passport and escape, but the sedative lead Mahdi to his death. She allegedly dismembered and disposed of his body. In response, she was sentenced to death in 2020, a verdict upheld by the Houthi-run Supreme Judicial Council in 2023.