Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi takes up Nimisha Priya case with Houthi envoy

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A day after meeting External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Muscat, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had made an appeal on behalf of Nimisha Priya, the Indian nurse on death row in Yemen, with a senior Houthi envoy.

In an exclusive interview to The Hindu here, Mr. Araghchi, who met Mr. Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Conference in Muscat on Sunday, said he subsequently met Mohammed Abdul Salam, special envoy of Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthi group that controls most parts of Yemen.

“We are hopeful. I just spoke to Mr. Abdul Salam, the Ansar Allah envoy, who is here in Muscat. I told him about this case, and he assured me that he will try to find a way forward,” Mr. Araghchi said.

According to reports in the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV in Yemen, Mr. Araghchi and Mr. Abdul Salam met in Muscat on Monday for officials talks to discuss “recent regional developments, including the enforcement of the Gaza ceasefire”.

The 37-year old Ms. Priya, a former nurse from Kerala, was convicted in 2020 for killing her Yemeni business partner, Talal Abdo Mahdi, in 2017.

Her family launched an international campaign for clemency for Ms. Priya, who said that she had been assaulted and abused by Mahdi for years. Ms. Priya’s family and other groups also collected contributions towards reparations or “blood money” which could allow her to be pardoned by the family of the man killed according to the Islamic legal system.

After she was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in Yemen’s capital Sana’a this year, the External Affairs Ministry said the Indian government “is providing all possible assistance in the case”.

“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,” the Ministry said in response to a question by MP John Brittas in the Rajya Sabha.

The response led to accusations by civil society organisations in Kerala that the government had “washed its hands off the matter”.

Diplomatic efforts

Mr. Araghchi’s comments indicate that diplomatic efforts are still ongoing in the case, particularly given Iran’s considerable influence over the Houthi group in Yemen.

In January, The Hindu had reported that a senior Iranian official visiting Delhi had also assured support from Tehran to India’s case.

Mr. Araghchi, however, said that the case would not be resolved unless an alternate legal argument could be presented before the courts.

“It is purely a legal case, and has nothing to do with politics,” the Iranian Foreign Minister said. “It a case about a crime which the lady [Ms. Priya] has unfortunately committed. So they are trying to find a way…. to another legal way out to address this issue and prevent her execution,” he added.

In addition, officials have warned that the current instability in West Asia and the continuing violence in Yemen are making the resolution of the case a more complex task.

Yemen is controlled at present by three entities. The Iran-aligned Houthis control the administrative capital of Sana’a that has all the important institutions, including the judicial system of Yemen. Ms. Priya is reportedly being held at the Central Prison in Sana’a.

The Saudi-backed government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) are the other two entities that control the rest of Yemen.

(With inputs from Kallol Bhattacherjee)