Nimisha Priya

Nimisha Priya (born 1987) is an Indian nurse and convicted murderer. She has been on death row in Yemen's Central prison since 2018, after being convicted of the 2017 murder of a Yemeni citizen.

Life Priya grew up in Kollengode, Palakkad, Kerala, where she did well in school. A local church supported her financially, allowing her to complete a course in nursing. However, Priya was unable to work as a nurse in Kerala, as she "hadn't cleared her school leaving exams" prior to beginning her nursing studies.

In 2008, Priya moved from Kerala to Yemen for work. In Yemen, she worked as a nurse for a government-run hospital in the country's capital, Sanaa. In 2014, Priya left her job with the hope of starting her own clinic. Per Yemeni law, Priya needed a Yemeni business partner, so she recruited Talal Abdo Mahdi, a local businessman who owned a textile shop. In early 2015, Priya opened the Al Aman Medical Clinic, a 14-bed facility, financing the move with money she and her husband had borrowed. Although Priya reported his behavior to the police in 2016, they did not intervene to help her.

Murder, arrest, and prison sentence In July 2017, Priya injected Talal Abdo Mahdi with ketamine, causing him to die of an overdose. According to Priya and her advocates, she had planned simply to sedate Mahdi, allowing her to retrieve her passport and other documents from his control. Priya was arrested near Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia in August 2017. According to Indian Supreme Court lawyer K. R. Subhash Chandran, Priya's trial was held entirely in Arabic, which Priya does not speak, and she was not given an interpreter or a lawyer. Chandran and other supporters of Priya have called for a retrial due to these factors. That same year, the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council was formed by Priya's relatives and other supporters. Since its formation, the group has worked to negotiate for Priya's release.

In November 2023, Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council rejected Priya's appeal. Negotiations stalled by September 2024.

In late December 2024, Yemeni president Rashad al-Alimi approved Priya's death sentence, with her execution, at that time, expected to be held sometime in January 2025. Indian officials have stated they are continuing to explore options to free Priya or prevent her death. An Iranian official also indicated that Iran was also willing to help Priya. Her scheduled execution on 16 July 2025 was postponed by authorities. As of the postponement, supporters had raised US$58,000 to negotiate her release.

Priya's sentence was criticized by Amnesty International in July 2025, who called for all death sentences of prisoners in Yemen to be commuted.

Personal life In 2011, Priya returned to Kerala after her family arranged her marriage. She and her husband then returned to Yemen. After Priya gave birth to her daughter in December 2012, the family struggled to make enough money. In 2014, Priya's husband returned to India with their daughter.