CPI MP urges EAM to secure stay on execution of Indian nurse on death row in Yemen

New Delhi | Communist Party of India Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh Kumar on Thursday wrote to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and urged him to use "every possible diplomatic and humanitarian channel" to secure a stay on the execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen.

In a letter to Jaishankar, the lawmaker said reports indicate that the execution may be carried out within days.

"Nimisha's case has not only shaken the conscience of the public but also raised serious concerns about the lack of legal safeguards and the humanitarian dimensions of her ordeal," Kumar said.

He said Priya travelled to Yemen to work as a nurse, like many others who leave their homeland in search of a livelihood.

"Her years there were marked by grave suffering, accounts suggest she endured repeated abuse and coercion at the hands of her business partner. Denied her passport and subjected to constant fear and exploitation, she found herself in a desperate situation," he said.

Kumar said what followed was a tragic turn of events that has now placed her on death row.

"In such circumstances, the role of the Government of India, particularly the Ministry of External Affairs, becomes critical and urgent. The Communist Party of India has consistently stood by Nimisha Priya's family in their appeal for justice and compassion," he said.

The Left leader said the Yemeni legal system allows for a resolution through the provision of diyat (blood money), "which opens a window for negotiation, provided the Indian government steps in to facilitate it." He added, "In this context, I strongly urge you to use every possible diplomatic and humanitarian channel to secure a stay on the execution and pursue all available means to prevent this irreversible punishment. "It is a question not only of saving a life but of reaffirming the nation's responsibility towards its citizens abroad," he added .

Priya, hailing from Kollengode in Kerala's Palakkad district, was found guilty of murdering a Yemeni man, her business partner, in July 2017.

In 2020, a Yemeni court handed her the death sentence, and the country's Supreme Judicial Council dismissed her appeal in November 2023.

The 38-year-old nurse is presently lodged in a jail in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital city under the control of the Iran-backed Houthis.