Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas on Wednesday appealed to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to urgently intervene and halt the scheduled execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen. In a letter addressed to the minister, Brittas cited reports that Priya’s execution is slated for July 16, sparking widespread concern and anxiety among her family and supporters.
Nimisha Priya, a 38-year-old nurse from Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, was convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner in July 2017. She has been lodged in a jail in Sana’a, the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen, since her arrest. A Yemeni court sentenced her to death in 2020, and her appeal was rejected by the Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023.
Brittas urged the Indian government to engage at the highest diplomatic levels to stop the execution and explore the possibility of securing a pardon through “diyat” — a legal provision in Islamic law that allows the victim’s family to accept compensation in exchange for a pardon. He called on the Centre to mediate negotiations with the deceased’s family, tribal leaders, and local stakeholders through diplomatic channels and trusted interlocutors.
“This distressing news has caused deep anguish among her family and well-wishers,” Brittas wrote, highlighting the urgency for “immediate and decisive” intervention by the Indian government.
With the execution date approaching, there is growing pressure on Indian authorities to take swift action to save Nimisha Priya’s life.