NEW DELHI: The capital punishment handed to Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya by a Yemeni court has not been ratified by President Rashad al-Alimi, the embassy of the conflict-ridden West Asian country in New Delhi confirmed on Monday.
Meanwhile, Nimisha’s lawyer, Subhash Chandran, told this newspaper that neither he nor the family has received any information from Yemeni authorities and expressed hope that the Indian government would extend all necessary support to secure her release.
The embassy issued this clarification following media reports on the case.
The Yemeni embassy stressed that the entire case has been handled by the Houthi militias, and as a result, Rashad al-Alimi, Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, has not ratified the judgment, adding a fresh twist to reports that the President approved the death sentence for the Kerala nurse.
Nimisha Priya, hailing from Kollengode in Kerala's Palakkad district, was found guilty of murdering a Yemeni citizen in July 2017.
The 37-year-old nurse is currently imprisoned in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, which is under the control of the Iran-backed Houthis.
According to reports, Priya was handed capital punishment by a trial court in 2020 while Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council upheld the verdict in November 2023.
Last week, India said it is closely following the developments in the case.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government is extending "all possible" help in the matter.
“We are closely following the developments around the sentencing of Nimisha Priya. The government is extending all possible help in the matter," he said on Friday.