Yemen's Supreme Court rejected Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya's plea against death sentence: Centre tells Delhi HC

The Yemen Supreme Court rejected Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya's appeal against her death sentence. This was informed by the Centre to Delhi High Court. She was convicted of murdering Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi.

New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday (Nov 16) informed the Delhi High Court that Yemen's Supreme Court rejected Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya's appeal plea against the death sentence. Nimisha Priya, a Malayali nurse, was sentenced to death in Yemen over murder charges in 2017. She was convicted of murdering Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi.

The petition filed by Nimisha's mother seeking the government's help to let her go to Yemen was directed to be submitted to the Centre as an application. The Delhi High Court also gave seven days to the Centre for a decision. At this juncture, the Centre informed that Yemen rejected the nurse's plea. The Delhi HC also directed the nurse's mother to hand over the documents including the passport. 

Nimisha Priya's mother said that the Yemen court's decision to reject her appeal was unexpected. She hopes to go to Yemen with the help of the Indian government to meet her daughter in jail who is awaiting the death penalty. 

The Delhi HC sent notice to the Centre on the petition filed by Priya's mother seeking government intervention for travelling to Yemen. Nimisha's mother said that despite approaching the Centre several times, there was no intervention. 

On April 11, the Supreme Court in Yemen expedited the proceedings against Malayali nurse Nimisha Priya on the death penalty for the murder of a Yemeni citizen, following the petition filed by the family of the victim seeking to execute the punishment immediately.