India must step up efforts to Save Nimisha as execution looms

WITH just days left until Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya faces execution in Yemen on July 16, time is running out for India to act decisively. The 37-year-old, convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner Talal Abdo Mahdi, has exhausted her legal avenues. Her fate now hinges on last-minute diplomatic and humanitarian intervention, particularly through the culturally sanctioned payment of “blood money” to the victim’s family. The Indian government, though hamstrung by a lack of formal diplomatic relations with the Houthi rebels who control Sana’a, is reportedly providing all possible assistance. But with the gallows looming, these efforts appear insufficient. While India’s diplomatic relations remain with Yemen’s internationally recognised government, real control of Priya’s place of incarceration lies with the Houthis. The time for back-channel diplomacy is critically short.