A mother is in Yemen to snatch her daughter from the jaws of death

The New Year was just two days away. But for Premakumari, waking up in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, a heritage city scarred by a relentless civil war, hope felt like a distant, fleeting dream. Her fragile optimism shattered when she received the devastating news: Mahdi al-Mashat, president of Supreme Political Council of Houthis, had approved the execution of her daughter, 36-year-old Nimisha Priya. A nurse from Kerala, Nimisha has been imprisoned in Sanaa’s central jail since 2017, convicted of murdering Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi, her business partner.  

“We thought everything was finally falling into place when her lawyer informed us of the President’s decision,” Premakumari said over the phone, her voice trembling with grief. “Time is slipping away. I beg everyone to come together for a final effort to save her life. I can’t bear the thought of her execution, not even for a moment.” 

Purpose of action council

The 57-year-old woman’s fight to save her daughter has been long and gruelling. From Kizhakkambalam village in Ernakulam, where she worked as a domestic help, she embarked on an arduous journey to Sanaa to meet Nimisha in the central jail on April 24, 2024. Since then, she has found shelter with the family of Samuel Jerome Bhaskaran, a key member of the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council. The collective, comprising elected representatives, lawyers and human rights activists, was formed to ensure Nimisha’s access to justice and raise funds for blood money — the compensation paid to the victim’s family in accordance with Shariah law — should the victim’s family agree to pardon her. She then met her daughter again in September, accompanied by two nuns who offered prayers for her at the central jail. 

Nimisha, a native of Kollengode in Palakkad district, left for Yemen in 2008 with dreams of securing a better future for her parents, who worked as domestic helps. Determined to overcome the challenges of working abroad, she landed a job at a government-run hospital in Sanaa. She worked there until 2011, before returning to Kerala to marry Tomy Thomas, a native of Thodupuzha in Idukki district. 

Hopes dashed by civil war

The civil war that resulted in the Houthi rebels with links to Iran gaining control over Sanaa in September 2014 shattered her dreams. The Government of India issued an advisory in April 2015 asking Indian nationals not to travel to Yemen owing to the adverse political and security situation triggered by the rift between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen.

“I was preparing to join her in Yemen with our two-year-old daughter when the civil war erupted,” Tomy recalls from his single-room rented house in Thodupuzha. “Nimisha had left for Yemen a month and a half earlier. By the time we secured visas and arranged travel expenses, everything had changed.” He vividly remembers the moment Nimisha called to warn him not to travel. “She told me a war had broken out. At first, I didn’t believe her because there were no reports confirming it. Then, news started pouring in through international media. Before I could fully comprehend the situation, Nimisha became almost unreachable,” he says. Now 48, Tomy works as an autorickshaw driver to make ends meet. 

When troubles surface

In 2015, Nimisha quit her low-paying hospital job to start her own clinic. However, Yemeni law required nationals to own and operate businesses, forcing her to partner with Talal Abdo Mahdi to set up the venture. The same year, Mahdi accompanied her to Kerala when she came home for a month-long holiday. A petition filed by Premakumari in December 2023 before the Delhi High Court, seeking the Centre’s permission to visit her daughter, alleges a sinister twist. According to the petition, Mahdi allegedly stole a wedding photograph of Nimisha during their visit to Kerala and later doctored it to claim that he was married to her.

“Over time, the relationship between Nimisha and Mahdi deteriorated. He began torturing her and siphoning off all the clinic’s revenue. When she confronted him about the embezzlement, he became increasingly hostile,” the petition states. 

The document further alleges that Mahdi seized her passport to prevent her from leaving Yemen and subjected her to physical and mental torture under the influence of drugs. “Unable to endure the abuse, Nimisha lodged a complaint with the Sanaa police. However, instead of taking action against Mahdi, the authorities arrested her and detained her for six days. Upon her release, the intensity of the torture escalated dramatically,” it claims. 

Desperate measures

In July 2017, desperate for a way out, Nimisha sought advice from a jail warden near her clinic where Mahdi had previously been imprisoned for various offences. The warden suggested sedating Mahdi to recover her passport. On her first attempt, the sedation failed due to his substance abuse. She tried again using a stronger sedative, but Mahdi died within minutes from an apparent drug overdose, the petition says. 

Nearly a month later, Nimisha was arrested near Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia after Mahdi’s dismembered body was discovered in a water tank. The incident received extensive media coverage, with local television channels labelling her as the prime suspect. In 2020, a trial court sentenced Nimisha to death, a verdict upheld by the Supreme Judicial Council in 2023. Efforts by the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council and her family to save her gained traction after her lawyer revealed a potential lifeline. The appeal court had kept open the possibility of blood money.

Hampered by travel ban

However, the travel ban imposed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to Yemen on September 26, 2017, in view of the fragile political and security situation in the country came as a stumbling block in the family’s efforts to travel to Sanaa. 

“The obstacles to her mother’s repeated attempts to travel to Yemen were finally cleared when the Delhi High Court, acting on her plea, directed the Centre in December to relax its 2017 notification barring Indian passport holders from entering Yemen due to the ongoing civil war,” explains Subhash Chandran, who represented Premakumari in the case. 

The court had asked the Centre to consider the clause in the notification that the travel ban can be relaxed by the Centre for specific and essential reasons of travel. It had stated that a limited period may be granted by the Centre on the request of the applicant, who was required to travel at his or her own personal risk without any liability to the Government of India or any State Government concerned. 

Raising a hefty fee

Premakumari reached Sanaa on April 23, 2024, but negotiations soon hit a roadblock. The lawyer engaged by the Indian mission in Sanaa demanded a hefty fee of $40,000 for pre-negotiations. As per Yemen’s laws, Nimisha’s family could not contact the victim’s family members, and they needed to hire negotiators to reach out to them. 

“We managed to raise the first instalment of $20,000 through crowdfunding in May,” says Chandran. “However, after the payment, there was no clear communication about the progress of the negotiations. Given the enormous amount, there was internal disagreement within the council about releasing the second instalment. Eventually, we decided to release it on December 27 to expedite contact with the victim’s family.” 

Despite the Houthi Supreme Council president’s approval of Nimisha’s execution – Sanaa is controlled by the Houthi rebels — her family and the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council remain hopeful. “The death penalty can still be waived if the victim’s family agrees to pardon her in exchange for blood money,” says Samuel, an aviation consultant who has been based in Yemen since 1999. He acknowledges that the delay in releasing the second instalment stalled progress in the negotiations but insists efforts are ongoing. “We are working to re-establish contact through the lawyer,” he adds. 

Diplomatic efforts appear to have gained momentum after the MEA announced on December 31, 2024, that the Government of India “is extending all possible assistance to Malayali nurse Nimisha Priya, who is on death row at the central prison in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.” The Ministry acknowledged, however, that the case posed significant challenges due to India’s lack of official ties with the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels. Adding a twist to the unfolding drama, reports emerged suggesting that Iran might intervene on Nimisha’s behalf. 

Though uncertainty clouds Iran’s mediation effort, her husband views it as a flicker of hope. “There is hope,” he says, his voice steady yet tinged with anticipation. Officials of the MEA have been in regular contact with him, offering updates and reassurances.  

Frantic efforts continue

“Over the years, my daughter and I have met every political leader in Kerala we could reach out to. The Union government has been supportive, though I understand their constraints. Iran’s involvement, given its sway over the Houthis, is a glimmer of hope,” he adds. 

For their daughter, who has not seen her mother since she was two, the reality remains hazy. Now in Class 7 and studying at a boarding school in Kothamangalam, Ernakulam, the young girl doesn’t seem to know the gravity of her mother’s situation.  

“I’ve told her that her mother is in jail for something she didn’t do,” says Tomy, his voice choking with emotion. “She only knows her mother through voice notes and the rare video calls. Whenever she gets a message from her, she replies, urging her to come home soon. I hope her wish will soon become a reality.”