Why bringing back Nimisha Priya, Kerala nurse on death row in Yemen, is a diplomatic rigmarole
Priya has been in prison in Yemen's capital Sana'a since 2017, convicted of killing her business partner. Sana'a is governed by the separatist organisation—Ansar Allah—also known as the Houthis. India does not recognise nor maintain ties with the Iran-backed movement that has controlled Sana'a since 2014. Rather it recognises the government operating in the port city of Aden to the South, which is recognised internationally as the regime in-charge of Yemen.
New Delhi: The complexities of Yemen—a fractured nation, in the midst of a civil war for over a decade, with rival regional powers jockeying for influence, combined with a lack of diplomatic representation from New Delhi—are all playing a role in the fate of Nimisha Priya, the Kerala-born nurse on death row in the West Asian nation.
Born in Kerala's Palakkad district, Nimisha moved to Yemen in 2008 for work. Three years later, she married Tomy Thomas and the two moved back to Yemen and continued working in the West Asian nation. However, by early 2012, Yemen witnessed a major political change due to the impact of the Arab Spring, with its long-time leader Ali Abdullah Saleh lost his grip on power, after 22 years in control of Sana'a.
Within two years, the Houthis, from the North of the country, swept across Yemen, capturing Sana'a and dislodging Saleh's successor Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi from the city. It was around this time that Priya decided to open her own clinic in the West Asian nation.
For a foreigner to operate a business in Yemen, the law requires a local partner. Mahdi entered the situation, even though Priya eventually opened the clinic with her former boss Abdul Lateef, according to media reports.
But Mahdi managed to become a shareholder, and allegedly created documents to show that Priya was his wife, and even took away her passport. Facing torture at the hands of Mahdi, Priya eventually decided to sedate him, retrieve her documents and leave the country, according to reports. However, Mahdi died and Priya was arrested attempting to flee the country.
In 2020, Nimisha Priya was sentenced to death, which was upheld in 2023 by the Supreme Judicial Council. In April 2024, Premakumari, Nimisha Priya's mother finally travelled to Yemen and met her daughter in prison in Sana'a.
There were negotiations over the payment of blood money between Mahdi's family and Priya's family. However, by September 2024 the negotiations were said to have hit a roadblock.
Prominent businesspersons from Kerala including M.A. Yussuff Ali of the LuLu Group and Bobby Chemmanur have offered up to Rs 1 crore each for any potential settlement leading to the release of Priya. The efforts are being coordinated by the 'Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council'.
Last week, Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, confirmed that New Delhi has been in touch with the 'local authorities'—the Houthis—in Sana'a as it continues to diplomatically seek her release.
The only other option for Priya's release is the payment of 'diyah' or blood money to the family of the murdered Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi.
Also read: Setback for efforts to save Nimisha Priya from execution in Yemen as victim's family refuses pardon
The situation in Yemen
Since September 2014, Yemen has been fractured by a civil war fought primarily between the internationally recognised government, currently led by Rashad al-Alimi, and the Houthis. The Houthis are known currently for their efforts to disrupt trade through the Red Sea, in response to Israel's military actions in the Gaza strip.
The civil war in Yemen has regional implications, with Saudi Arabia leading a coalition to dislodge the Houthis from power. Iran, however, supports the Houthis, a Shi'ite revivalist movement, with a history of rising up against the Sunnis in power in the country. Yemen became the latest flash point for the proxy struggle between Riyadh and Tehran for control over West Asia.
In April 2015, after evacuating its citizens from Yemen, New Delhi shut down its mission in the West Asian nation, with all issues with regards to the country handled through its embassy in Riyadh. Furthermore, India has no official ties with Ansar Allah, which has been in control of Sana'a, where Nimisha Priya has been imprisoned since 2018.
In January 2025, Iran offered its assistance to India for the release of Priya. Last week, however, a source in the Iranian Embassy in New Delhi pointed to the current situation in West Asia, which has led to Tehran's inability to be involved in the diplomatic process to see Priya's return.
When Priya first moved to Yemen in 2008, the country had been under the control of Ali Abdullah Saleh for over 18 years. Saleh, born in 1946, in a town outside Sana'a, rose through the ranks in the military of North Yemen.
The country, which was divided between Monarchists and Republicans, was led by a number of military juntas, till Saleh arrived in the political scene in 1978. For the next 12 years, the Yemeni strongman consolidated power and led the country's reunification with the Communist South Yemen in 1990, following the collapse of the USSR.
Saleh remained in power for the next 22 years, until the effects of the Arab Spring led to his downfall in 2012. He was replaced by his long-standing vice-president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. In September 2014, the Ansar Allah occupied Sana'a, demanding lower fuel prices and the formation of a new government. The rebel movement swept South from its stronghold in the North and within months had captured Sana'a.
Hadi and the Houthis engaged in fraught negotiations to find a political agreement. However, this failed in January 2015, Hadi resigned and fled Yemen for Saudi Arabia. In February of that year, Hadi rescinded his resignation and a month later Saudi Arabia along with a coalition of Gulf states began their war in Yemen to dislodge the Houthis through both economic isolation and air strikes along with logistical support from the US.
The Houthis during the initial stages received support from Saleh, as well as military aid from Tehran. The movement soon controlled territory consisting roughly 70 percent of the population, according to some estimates. The proxy war continued for years, with the frontlines largely stabilising following the Saudi-led intervention, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Eventually the Hadi government stabilised its control over Aden, while the Houthis held Sana'a and large swathes of North and North-Western Yemen. Eventually in 2022 a ceasefire was agreed to by both parties, which has been maintained since. Hadi resigned in 2022 after a decade in power, leading to a Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) consisting of eight members and led by al-Alimi. The PLC is the internationally recognised regime, and operates out of Aden.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Day before her execution, a ray of hope for Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Why are top US universities facing questions over who really qualifies for scholarships?
US universities face federal probes over scholarship eligibility and discrimination. (AP Photo) The US Department of Education has opened investigations into five prominent universities over concerns that some of their scholarships may be unlawfully excluding American-born students. The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is examining whether certain scholarships reserved exclusively for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or undocumented students violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on national origin. The universities under scrutiny include the University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska Omaha, the University of Miami, the University of Michigan, and Western Michigan University. The investigations follow complaints filed by the Legal Insurrection Foundation's Equal Protection Project, which alleges that the scholarships in question unlawfully restrict eligibility, thereby discriminating against US citizens. Investigations focus on scholarships reserved for undocumented students According to the complaints, the University of Louisville's Sagar Patagundi Scholarship is designated for undergraduate DACA and undocumented students to subsidise the cost of higher education. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Access all TV channels anywhere, anytime Techno Mag Learn More Undo The University of Nebraska Omaha's Dreamer's Pathway Scholarship targets DACA or DACA-eligible Nebraska residents seeking an undergraduate degree. Similarly, the University of Miami offers the U Dreamers Program to academically talented high school seniors and transfer students with DACA or undocumented status. The University of Michigan provides the Dreamer Scholarship, which is intended to support undocumented students or those with DACA status. Western Michigan University also offers the WMU Undocumented/DACA Scholarship for undergraduate students who cannot receive federal student aid due to their undocumented or DACA status. Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor stated, 'Neither the Trump Administration's America first policies nor the Civil Rights Act of 1964's prohibition on national origin discrimination permit universities to deny our fellow citizens the opportunity to compete for scholarships because they were born in the United States.' Further probes into scholarships based on race and colour In addition to the scholarships focused on national origin, the OCR will examine other scholarships that allegedly exclude students based on race and colour, which could also violate Title VI. Examples include the University of Louisville's Dawn Wilson Scholarship for undergraduate LGBTQ+ students of colour and the Louisville Tango Festival Scholarship for Latino/a/x and Hispanic students. The University of Nebraska Omaha's HDR Scholarship reportedly gives preference to underrepresented minority students. Western Michigan University's Elissa Gatlin Endowed Scholarship is designated for African American, Native American, or Hispanic American students. William A. Jacobson, founder of the Equal Protection Project, remarked, 'Protecting equal access to education includes protecting the rights of American-born students. Discrimination against American-born students must not be tolerated.' The Legal Insurrection Foundation's Equal Protection Project initiated these complaints in order to ensure equal protection under the law and prevent government discrimination in any form. The investigations mark a notable expansion of enforcement efforts under the current administration to address alleged discrimination in US higher education, emphasising the protection of American students and lawful residents from exclusionary scholarship practices. TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here . Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Beware Iran's New Ruling Elite
All wars have consequences, particularly for the vanquished. For the Islamic Republic of Iran, the 12-Day War—its recent conflict with Israel and the U.S.—hasn't been a soul-scorching, society-rending fight in the way of the Iran-Iraq War. From 1980-88, hundreds of thousands perished and battlefield trauma nearly cracked the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the theocracy's indispensable pillar. But that conflict did offer an opportunity for Iran: The struggle led the regime to build institutions that guaranteed the revolution's survival. The 12-Day War, by contrast, has weakened the heads of those institutions substantially and looks likely to launch a new generation of leaders. That's bad news for Israel and America. Today, the regime is defined ideologically by its fight against Israel and the U.S. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his minions have tried to claim victory over the Jewish state in the 12-Day War. But whatever they say in public, the overwhelming sentiment among them is surely not pride but shame. The loss has greatly diminished the supreme leader's stature. And the consequences of defeat will catapult little-known, hard-core believers—the Revolutionary Guard officers who proved themselves against the Syrian rebellion a decade ago—into the weakened ruling elite. The headline for Israel and America: These men won't compromise on the regime's nuclear-weapon ambitions. And that's about all we know of them. During the Islamic Revolution in 1978-79, neither Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini nor many of his senior adjutants were enigmas to those who had studied Iran. They told us their goals and motivations. As those revolutionaries aged, they compiled their speeches, wrote books or allowed others to chronicle their intellectual evolution. The new crew on the cusp of power today is comparatively illiterate. These men have a thin paper trail because they see little reason to explain themselves to their countrymen or to the outside world. They are drawn from militant groups such as the Paydari Front and the second tier of the Revolutionary Guards. They look to guidance from the likes of the religiously obsessional Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator who abjures compromise. They are found in the security organs, occupy seats in parliament and run their own education centers. They have created their own underground shadow government and ideological ecosystem. The supreme leader's weakened position has left these men an opening. If Mr. Khamenei had crossed the nuclear threshold and tested a weapon—as voices within the Revolutionary Guards advised him to do months ago—Iran would probably have foreclosed the possibility of foreign attacks. Now the 86-year-old cleric has to worry about dangerous discontent among battle-hardened soldiers. No matter how much the regime tries to play on Iranian nationalism, it's unlikely to recapture the citizenry, who no longer see theocrats and their enforcers as estimable expressions of their national identity or faith. To crush the countrywide Women, Life, Freedom movement in 2023—the most recent of many undermining protests—the regime beat, tortured, poisoned and killed young women and girls. Such brutality permanently severs the bonds between society and state. Even Israeli and American bombing runs won't restore them. Indeed, the rising generation of the Revolutionary Guards have defined themselves by their willingness to brutalize their countrymen repeatedly. And these guardsmen have had two other core commitments: the A-bomb program and the proxy war strategy devised by their fallen hero, Qassem Soleimani, the Revolutionary Guard dark lord whom an American missile felled in Baghdad in 2020. Israel's onslaught against these proxies since Oct. 7, 2023, has badly battered, perhaps permanently crippled, Soleimani's proxy-based 'axis of resistance' against the Jewish state and the U.S. But the nuclear-weapon ambitions remain viable. Moving forward, the Islamic Republic is unlikely to construct large enrichment plants such as Natanz or rely on mountains to protect its atomic assets. U.S. and Israeli satellite and aerial reconnaissance is too good, and construction times for new underground facilities are too long. Numerous, easily concealed surface facilities are now a better bet—so long as the regime can neutralize foreign spies in Iran. The mullahs have already launched a nationwide dragnet to cleanse their government of spies. These vicious counterintelligence measures will paralyze nuclear construction for a time, but eventually could enable a clandestine nuclear program that neither Jerusalem nor Washington can stop. The Iranians and Israelis are in a deadly intelligence duel. During the Cold War, Western and Soviet intelligence services continuously went at each other, but destiny seldom hung in the balance. The doctrine of mutually assured destruction provided some comfort and maneuvering room. Israelis are less certain that the threat of mutual annihilation works with the Islamic Republic's zealots. Are there enough Iranians in the right places who will risk their lives and the lives of their loved ones to stop the mullahs and the Revolutionary Guards from obtaining the ultimate weapon? Even if Israel has developed a technical capacity to penetrate Iranian official communications, it's still the most pressing question before the Mossad. A second question also looms: Can Jerusalem learn enough about the new, fiercely anti-Zionist members of the Iranian elite to frustrate or compromise them? Learning where they live, though obviously important, will be the easy part. Mr. Gerecht, a former Iranian-targets officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, is a resident scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Mr. Takeyh is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Harshvardhan Jain: the ‘fake Diplomat' who ran ‘embassy' in Ghaziabad and his controversial past
Harshvardhan Jain, the accused arrested on July 23 for operating a fake embassy out of a plush, two-storey bungalow in Ghaziabad, hails from a wealthy business family and studied abroad. He was part of a gang that ran illegal arms trade and committed financial frauds in the garb of overseas firms, according to the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force. He was arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police in 2012 for illegally possessing a satellite phone. Mr. Jain (47) did his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from a private college in Ghaziabad and completed an Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from London in United Kingdom, said an official from Uttar Pradesh's STF probing the case. His father J.D. Jain is an industrialist and owned a rolling mill in Ghaziabad. His family also has marble mines in Rajasthan named J.D. Marbles, which used to export marbles to London. Part of illegal arms racket The accused Harshvardhan Jain had come into contact with Chandraswami, a controversial spiritual adviser. "It was Chandraswami who introduced [Mr.] Jain to Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi and India-born Turkish national Ahsan Ali Syed. Together with Syed, Jain allegedly set up over a dozen brokerage firms in the U.K. In 2006, he shifted base to Dubai's Umm Al-Quwain through a cousin living there," said the U.P. STF official. "During his foreign trips, the accused partnered with Hyderabad-based Shafiq and Dubai's Ibrahim Ali-Bin-Shaarma to float more firms, ostensibly offering overseas job placements and business deals. Such companies are also formed for financial frauds and potentially illegal arms deals," he added. Mr. Harshvardhan Jain returned to India in 2011 and was arrested in 2012 by the Ghaziabad police which recovered a satellite phone from him. The police registered a case under the Telegraph Buyers Unlawful Possession Act at Kavi Nagar police station in Ghaziabad. Mr. Harshvardhan Jain was arrested on July 23 for posing as a 'Consul' the non-existent 'West Arctica', 'Saborga', 'Poulvia', and 'Lodonia.'. As many as 12 forged diplomatic passports of the so-called micronations were among several fake documents recovered in a late night raid. To show his clout the accused parked luxury vehicles with diplomatic number plate outside the bungalow in Ghaziabad. He also had 'flags of these nations' which were regularly hoisted on its premises to give an impression of a genuine consulate.
