Kochi: A Yemen court has deferred its verdict on an appeal filed by Keralite nurse Nimisha Priya to commute her death sentence over the 2017 case pertaining to the murder of an Yemeni national.
A native of Kollengode in Palakkad district, Nimisha, 33, is now languishing in a Yemeni jail. She has been convicted for choking to death a Yemeni in a water tank.
The case will be considered by the court again on February 28.
The decision came as hundreds, including the family members of the murdered man and locals, gathered outside the court to protest against the appeal. The protesters demanded Nimisha's death sentence should be upheld by the court.
A social worker in Yemen, Samuel Jerome, who represents Nimisha at the court told Manorama Online that they are facing a tough situation as protests surge against her in Yemen.
The chilling case
Nimisha Priya was found guilty of murdering Yemen citizen Talal Abdu Mahadi, chopping his body into pieces and dumping them in a water tank on July 25, 2017. A trial court had initially awarded her death sentence in 2018.
Nimisha is a trained nurse and had worked in private hospitals in Yemen for a few years.
In 2014, she joined hands with Mahadi to set up her own clinic in Yemen's capital city Sana'a. She sought Mahadi's support because, under Yemen law, only nationals are allowed to set up clinics and business firms.
Torture and abuses
After she started the clinic, Mahadi started cornering all the revenue. He became hostile when Nimisha questioned him about the embezzlement. He later threatened her, forged documents to marry her as per his religion and brutally tortured her.
Soon, Nimisha's life turned into a hell. Mahadi seized her passport. This was done to ensure that she would not leave Yemen. He tortured her under the influence of drugs. He threatened her at gunpoint several times. He took all the money from the clinic and her ornaments.
Unable to cope with the torture, Nimisha complained to the police. They arrested Mahadi was put him behind bars. On his return from jail, the severity of the torture increased manifold.
Plotting the murder
Nimisha soon realised the Mahadi would not allow her to live a normal life. Hence she started plotting his murder. She found an able ally in Hanan, a Yemeni nurse who worked with her.
The duo injected Mahadi with an overdose of anaesthetic. Mahadi died in a few hours. But the duo could not find a place to bury him. So they chopped him into pieces, put them in a polythene bag and dumped in the water tank of her apartment.
Running from Sana'a and arrest
After the murder, Nimisha ran away from Sana'a. She found a job at a hospital some 200km away from the capital. A few days later, residents complained of stench from the water tank near her old clinic. When they opened it up, they saw Mahadi's chopped body.
Police soon launched a massive hunt to trace Nimisha. They published her photographs in major newspapers. Soon she was arrested.
Hanan, the nurse who was also involved in the murder, is serving a life sentence.
