Kerala Nurse Nimisha Priya’s Execution In Yemen Postponed, Says Her Counsel
In a major reprieve, the execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, who was on death row in Yemen and scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, has been put on hold. The last-minute breakthrough comes after intense diplomatic and back-channel efforts, spearheaded by influential religious leaders, managed to bring the victim’s family to the negotiation table for the first time.
Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, was sentenced to death for the 2017 murder of her Yemeni business partner, Talal Abdo Mahdi. With her final appeal rejected and the execution date looming, hopes for her survival were fading.
The critical development came on Tuesday following the intervention of prominent Indian Sunni leader Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar. He reached out to renowned Yemeni Sufi scholar Sheikh Habib Umar bin Hafiz, whose representatives then held a crucial meeting with the family of the deceased in their hometown of Dhamar.
Sources have confirmed that Yemeni authorities agreed to postpone the execution to allow time for these negotiations to proceed. While this is a significant step, Nimisha’s fate still hangs in the balance as the victim’s family has not yet agreed to a pardon or to accept “diyah” (blood money) in exchange for her life, as permitted under Sharia law.
The Indian government, which had told the Supreme Court on Monday that it had “limited options” due to the lack of formal diplomatic ties with the Houthi-controlled government in Sana’a, also played a key role. “Indian officials have been in regular touch with the local jail authorities and the prosecutor’s office, leading to securing this postponement,” government sources said.
The news has brought a wave of relief to her family and the ‘Save Nimisha Priya Action Council’ in Kerala, which has been campaigning for her release. All eyes are now on the outcome of the ongoing talks in Yemen, which represent the last and only hope to save the Indian nurse’s life.
