Sanaa: The Yemen Appeal Court has upheld the death sentence awarded to Keralite nurse Nimisha Priya (33) for murdering a national of this West Asian country five years ago.
Though another chance of appeal to the Supreme Court still exists, Nimisha Priya is unlikely to be spared the punishment awarded by the lower court for the 2017 murder. The apex court rarely sets aside the verdict of the appeal' court though it can order to review the legal procedures so far.
She can hope to come out of the death row even now only if her victim's family accepts blood money and she manages to get relief from legal procedures. However, that option looks bleak as last month hundreds, including the family members of the murdered man and locals, gathered outside the court to protest against the appeal. The protesters demanded Nimisha's death sentence should be upheld by the court. The court had to defer the hearing a couple of times considering the vehement protest.
A native of Kollengode in Palakkad district, Nimisha is now languishing in a Yemeni jail. A trial court had initially awarded her death sentence in 2018.
The chilling case
Nimisha was found guilty of murdering Yemen citizen Talal Abdu Mahadi. She had chopped his body and dumped the parts in a water tank on July 25, 2017.
Nimisha is a trained nurse and had worked in private hospitals in Yemen for a few years.
In 2014, she joined hands with Mahadi to set up her own clinic in Yemen's capital city Sanaa. She sought Mahadi's support because, under Yemen law, only nationals are allowed to set up clinics and business firms. Later the ties between the duo deteriorated and Mahadi tortured her. To escape from his clutches Nimisha murdered him.
Torture and abuses
After she started the clinic, Mahadi started cornering all the revenue. He became hostile when Nimisha questioned him about the embezzlement. He later threatened her, forged documents to marry her as per his religion and brutally tortured her.
Soon, Nimisha's life turned into a hell. Mahadi seized her passport. This was done to ensure that she would not leave Yemen. He tortured her under the influence of drugs. He threatened her at gunpoint several times. He took all the money from the clinic and her ornaments.
Unable to cope with the torture, Nimisha complained to the police. They arrested Mahadi was put him behind bars. On his return from jail, the severity of the torture increased manifold.
Plotting the murder
Nimisha soon realised the Mahadi would not allow her to live a normal life. Hence she started plotting his murder. She found an able ally in Hanan, a Yemeni nurse who worked with her.
The duo injected Mahadi with an overdose of anaesthetic. Mahadi died in a few hours. But the duo could not find a place to bury him. So they chopped him into pieces, put them in a polythene bag and dumped in the water tank of her apartment.
Running from Sana'a and arrest
After the murder, Nimisha ran away from Sana'a. She found a job at a hospital some 200km away from the capital. A few days later, residents complained of stench from the water tank near her old clinic. When they opened it up, they saw Mahadi's chopped body.
Police soon launched a massive hunt to trace Nimisha. They published her photographs in major newspapers. Soon she was arrested.
Hanan, the nurse who was also involved in the murder, is serving a life sentence.
