Nimisha’s mother has been in Yemen for the past year and says she will not return to Kerala without her daughter. The Indian Government has now issued a statement on the matter. The Indian Government told the Supreme Court that it can do little to prevent Nimisha’s execution.
Indian Government Can Do Little
A.G. Venkatramani, the central government’s lawyer, told the Supreme Court that due to Yemen’s instability, the Indian government is unable to intervene significantly. The Yemeni government does not have diplomatic recognition. The government informed the Supreme Court that efforts are being made privately to save Nimisha. According to a Live Law report, Venkatramani told the court that the Indian government had made every effort privately to save Nimisha. He stated that Yemen is unlike other parts of the world. The government told the SC that they did not want to publicise their efforts and that private efforts are still ongoing.
No Diplomatic Ties Between India and Houthis
It should be noted that Nimisha is imprisoned in a jail controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis. The Houthis have no diplomatic relations with India. Nimisha Priya moved to Yemen with her family in 2011 for work, but her husband and daughter returned to India three years later due to financial difficulties. Nimisha decided to open a clinic there. She opened a clinic in partnership with Talal Abdo Mahdi. According to Nimisha’s family, Abdo later confiscated her passport and tortured her. Nimisha attempted to subdue him, but Mahdi died during the incident. Nimisha was sentenced to death in 2020.
