CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas member has written to external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, for diplomatic intervention to prevent the execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen, which is reportedly scheduled for July 16, 2025.

“I write with a heavy heart and deep sense of urgency regarding the imminent execution of Smt. Nimisha Priya, reportedly scheduled for July 16, 2025, in the Republic of Yemen,” Brittas wrote in his letter. “The distressing news of this impending execution has caused widespread anxiety and anguish among her family and well-wishers, underscoring the need for immediate and decisive intervention by the Government of India.”

Priya, a Malayali nurse, was convicted in 2018 for the murder of her Yemeni employer. Her relatives have claimed that the case deserves urgent diplomatic intervention, not abandonment.

Over the past two years, the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council has repeatedly asked the government to facilitate the payment of diya, or blood money, under Yemen’s tribal legal traditions. The council is prepared to bear the full cost, according to Brittas.

In 2022, Jaishankar had assured that “the welfare of Indians abroad is of the highest priority for the Government of India and Ms. Nimisha Priya’s case will continue to receive our full attention.”

He also stated that “the possibility that tribal customs and traditions may offer relief is also being explored in cooperation with community organisations.”

In February 2025, during the Budget session, Brittas raised a question in the Rajya Sabha.

The government's written reply, he says, contradicted its earlier position. It stated that “the matter regarding any consideration towards the release of Ms. Nimisha Priya is between the family of the deceased and Ms. Nimisha Priya’s family.”

“This abrupt shifting of responsibility onto a distressed and financially fragile family, without proactive governmental facilitation, stands in stark contrast to the assurances previously provided,” Brittas noted in his letter on Wednesday.

“I had pointed out this inconsistency on the floor of the Rajya Sabha, urging the Government to correct its approach and to take urgent, positive measures to protect the life of an Indian citizen facing capital punishment under harrowing circumstances, especially when the Action Council is prepared to bear the financial burden and all that is needed is the Government's diplomatic facilitation to avert this tragedy," he said.

The Action Council had already transferred $40,000 to the ministry of external affairs as an initial tranche. But no follow-up came from the government regarding the full amount needed or any update on negotiations with the victim’s family in Yemen, according to Brittas.

“What they have sought from the Government is not financial aid, but facilitation in identifying the stakeholders in Yemen, negotiation of the diya amount, and communication of the agreed figure so that the funds can be handed over to the Government for onward payment,” he wrote.

The lack of progress, Brittas argued, has cost valuable time. With just days remaining, he urged Jaishankar to act. “I fervently appeal your good self to personally intervene at the highest levels with the authorities in Yemen to immediately halt the execution reportedly, and further to facilitate and mediate negotiations with the family of the deceased, tribal leaders, and local stakeholders to secure a pardon through diya, using diplomatic channels and local interlocutors.”

Nimisha, who had moved to Yemen to work and eventually opened a clinic with her employer Talal Abdo Mahdi as a legal requirement, alleged that he abused her, confiscated her passport, and prevented her from leaving the country. In an attempt to recover her passport and escape, she tried to sedate Mahdi, but the dose proved fatal. After his death, she and an accomplice disposed of his body, leading to her arrest and subsequent conviction.