The Final Plea: The Story of Nimisha Priya, a Kerala Nurse on Death Row in Yemen

The Tragic Tale of Nimisha Priya: From Nurse to Death Row in Yemen

On July 25, 2017, the Yemeni police in the city of Aden arrested Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, and her friend Hanan for the brutal murder of a man named Abdu Mahdi, a local broker. The case shocked international media after reports claimed that Nimisha had killed her "husband," chopped his body, and dumped it in a water tank.

When Tommy Thomas, a man living in Thodupuzha, Kerala, heard the news, he was stunned—because the woman being talked about was none other than his own wife, Nimisha Priya, who had been working in Yemen for years.

Confused and frightened, Thomas tried to contact Nimisha, but her phone was switched off. The news left him and their 5-year-old daughter Mishel in shock. Questions began to mount—who was this Talal Mahdi, and what was his connection to Nimisha?

Unfortunately, this case wasn’t going to be resolved in days or months—it would drag on for years. A year after her arrest, a Yemeni court convicted Nimisha in 2018 and sentenced her to death in 2020. The Supreme Judicial Council of Yemen upheld the death sentence in 2023. Despite desperate efforts, Nimisha's final hope for justice was shattered on December 30, 2024, when President Rashad al-Alimi rejected her mercy petition, sealing her fate to be executed within a month.

Dreams, Betrayal, and Deception

Nimisha was born in Palakkad, Kerala, to a poor family. Her parents were daily-wage laborers. But with support from the local church, she completed her nursing diploma and, in 2008, at just 19, traveled to Yemen to pursue her dreams.

She found work in a government hospital in Sana’a, and soon, the family's financial condition improved. In 2011, she returned to Kerala and married Tommy Thomas, an auto-rickshaw driver. A year later, Thomas joined her in Yemen. Their daughter Mishel was born in December 2012.

To secure a better future, Nimisha proposed opening a private clinic. Under Yemeni law, she needed a local sponsor. She and Thomas decided to partner with Talal Abdu Mahdi, a Yemeni shopkeeper they knew. Talal helped them with the paperwork and clinic setup. Thomas returned to Kerala in 2014 due to financial struggles, while Nimisha stayed back to run their 14-bed "Al Aman Medical Clinic."

The clinic was successful, generating nearly $1,000 daily. In 2015, Nimisha and Talal even visited India for her daughter's baptism. Talal had become like family.

Civil War and Isolation

But everything changed in 2015 with the eruption of civil war in Yemen. While most Indians evacuated, Nimisha stayed—she had invested too much to walk away. Visa restrictions prevented Thomas and their daughter from returning to Yemen. Nimisha was now alone with Talal.

Seeing the clinic's success, Talal became greedy. He forged documents and inserted his name as a co-owner. He began telling people Nimisha was his wife. He even morphed a photo from Nimisha’s wedding album, replacing Thomas’s face with his own to create a fake marriage certificate.

Yemeni law and local support were now on Talal’s side. With no family around, Nimisha became a prisoner in her own life. Talal controlled the clinic, finances, and staff, often physically and mentally abusing her. He seized her passport, preventing her from fleeing.

Abuse, Desperation, and a Fatal Mistake

Talal’s violence escalated. He regularly beat Nimisha, forced himself on her, and even tried to coerce her into sleeping with his friends. She often fled at night, hiding from him. He moved his wife and children into a staff accommodation next to the clinic. Her life became a nightmare.

Nimisha lodged a police complaint, but both were jailed for six days. Talal’s fake marriage certificate was accepted by the court, leading to their release. Talal now had complete control.

He pocketed clinic profits, left Nimisha penniless, and destroyed her SIM cards to cut her off from family. She had 26 SIMs just to maintain contact with Thomas and Mishel. When she called home, conversations lasted less than a minute.

A jail warden, familiar with her situation, suggested a plan: inject Talal with a sedative and extract the passport's location from him. Nimisha agreed—not to kill, but to escape.

One day in July 2017, while Talal was high on drugs, Nimisha injected him with a sedative. The first attempt failed. The next day, she tried again. This time, Talal collapsed, screamed—and then fell silent. She checked his pulse. He was dead.

Panicking, she called her friend Hanan, a nurse living downstairs. Hanan, aware of the abuse Nimisha endured, helped her dismember the body and hide it in the water tank. Nimisha, having taken anti-anxiety pills, had no memory of the details. They fled to Aden, 380 km away.

A few days later, a neighbor complained of a foul smell. Police found Talal’s remains and arrested both women.

Biased Justice and A Death Sentence

Media reports painted Nimisha as a brutal wife who murdered her husband. Thomas tried to reach her, but no contact could be established. Eventually, she got a brief chance to speak with him from jail.

Nimisha claimed in court that Talal had forged their marriage, tortured her, and robbed her of freedom. She pleaded with the court to verify her passport, speak to neighbors, and cross-check facts. But the trial was biased. Her legal representation was a junior lawyer who barely defended her. All paperwork and court documents were in Arabic, a language she didn’t understand.

In 2018, the trial court convicted her. Hanan was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Nimisha received the death penalty. With no proper lawyer, she appealed to the Supreme Judicial Council. But in December 2024, the President denied her mercy petition.

Hope in Blood Money

Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, is controlled by the Houthi rebels, who follow Sharia law. Under this law, a death sentence can be waived if the victim’s family accepts compensation—this is called "blood money."

An NRI businessman and social activist, Samuel Jerome Bhaskar, formed the "Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council" to raise blood money through crowdfunding.

Indian embassy-appointed negotiator Advocate Abdullah Amir demanded $40,000 as a pre-negotiation fee. After receiving $20,000, he halted the process, demanding the rest.

The exact amount demanded by Talal’s family remains undisclosed.

Where the Case Stands Now

After the death penalty was upheld, India’s Ministry of External Affairs, through spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, tweeted support for Nimisha. Her fate now lies in the hands of Talal’s family.

Her lawyer, Subhash Chandran, believes only the Indian government’s intervention can save her. Despite all the setbacks, her family hasn’t lost hope. Thomas believes Nimisha will return, and their now-13-year-old daughter will be reunited with her mother.

Nimisha’s mother, Prema Kumari, has been in Yemen since April 2024, searching for ways to save her daughter. She’s only met Nimisha twice in nine months. Yet, she continues to fight, carrying courage and hope.

Now, the question haunting millions is:

"Can Nimisha Priya be hanged as she committed crime?"