Mother under house arrest in Yemen? Nimisha Priya's husband responds

PALAKKAD: Tomy Thomas, the husband of Nimisha Priya, has denied allegations made against Samuel Jerome, a human rights activist in Yemen. He clarified that the USD 40,000 raised by the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council was handed over to the lawyer appointed by the central government through the Ministry of External Affairs’ account for handling the case in Yemen. Claims that Samuel Jerome misused these funds are baseless, Tomy stated.

He also refuted allegations that Nimisha Priya’s mother, Premakumari, is under house arrest in Yemen. “I have spoken to her. She is neither in anyone’s custody nor under house arrest. Such allegations are unfounded. She is under Samuel’s care with my full knowledge and consent,” he added.

Nimisha Priya was sentenced to death by a Yemeni trial court in connection with the murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017. The execution was postponed just hours before it was scheduled to be carried out. The only way to save Nimisha Priya is by paying blood money to Talal’s family.

However, Talal’s family has firmly refused to accept the blood money and continues to demand that the death sentence be carried out. Premakumari had travelled to Yemen to personally plead with Talal’s family for forgiveness. Reports indicate that despite discussions with the family and tribal leaders, the talks yielded no positive outcome.