Yemen President Rashad al-Alimi has approved the death sentence for Indian nurse Nimisha Priya. She has been in prison since 2017 for the murder of a Yemeni national. The execution is set to take place in a month, media reports say.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on Monday that India is aware of the sentencing. “We are aware of the sentencing of Ms. Nimisha Priya in Yemen. We understand that the family of Priya is exploring relevant options,” said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

The Yemeni President’s decision has shocked the family of 36-year-old Nimisha Priya. They have been working to save her from the death penalty. Her mother, Prema Kumari, 57, traveled to Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, earlier this year. She has been reportedly staying there, trying to secure a waiver for the death sentence and negotiate blood money with the victim’s family.

Nimisha Priya’s Murder Trial In Yemen

Nimisha Priya, a trained nurse from Palakkad, worked in private hospitals in Yemen for several years. In 2017, Priya was convicted of killing Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national. She had attempted to retrieve her passport, which Mahdi had seized. Priya allegedly injected him with a sedative, intending to incapacitate him temporarily. However, the dose proved fatal, leading to his death from an overdose.

Priya was sentenced to death by a Yemeni court in 2018. Her appeal to the Yemeni Supreme Court in 2023 was rejected. Now, with the president’s approval of her death sentence, her fate depends on whether she can secure forgiveness from the victim’s family and tribal leaders.