Centre okays $40000 to begin process of releasing Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya who is on death row in Yemen

The Central Government has approved a $40,000 transfer via the Indian Embassy for preliminary discussions on the release of Nimisha Priya, a Malayali nurse sentenced to death in Yemen for the 2017 murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi.

New Delhi: The Central Government has sanctioned the transfer of funds through the Indian Embassy for initial discussions regarding the release of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who is currently on death row in a Yemeni jail. This decision followed her mother Premakumari's appeal to the officials.

The Central Government will provide 40,000 US dollars through the Indian Embassy. Officials have stated that the funds will be delivered to the appropriate parties in Sana, the capital of Yemen, according to the received instructions.

Nimisha Priya, a Malayali nurse from Kollengode in Palakkad, was sentenced to death in Yemen in 2017 on charges of murdering Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi. Yemen's Supreme Court previously rejected her appeal against the death sentence. The court awarded the death penalty after trial in 2018.

Premakumari, Nimisha's mother had met her after 12 years in Yemen jail. She visited Yemen with Samuel Jerome, a 'Save Nimisha Priya' international council member. Premakumari said she did not think she could see her and burst into tears when she saw her daughter. Nimisha Priya told her that everything would be fine and be happy.

The prison authorities had made special arrangements for Premakumari to meet Nimishipriya in a dedicated room. The meeting, which received prior permission from the jail authorities, lasted for over an hour. During the visit, Premakumari shared a meal with Nimisha. 

According to Islamic law, if the victim's family pardons the criminal, the death penalty may be suspended; this may entail paying "blood money" (compensation to the victim's family). Nimisha Priya's release will be possible only if Talal's family forgives the death sentence after the Sana'a High Court upholds it.