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

Iranian Foreign Minister appeals for Indian nurse on death row in Yemen, diplomatic efforts ongoing, complex resolution due to regional instability.

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”.