(Image source from: Theweek.in)
The Ministry of External Affairs denied on Tuesday that the death penalty for Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who was found guilty in a murder case from 2017 in Yemen, had been revoked, according to sources. "Details being spread by some people about the Nimisha Priya situation are not correct," MEA sources said. On Monday, the Grand Mufti of India, Kanthapuram AP Abubakar Musliyar, stated that Nimisha Priya's death sentence had been officially cancelled. Previously, her death sentence had been put on hold. "The death sentence for Nimisha Priya, which was on hold before, has been reversed. A meeting in Sanaa has decided to fully cancel the previously suspended death sentence," a statement from the Grand Mufti's office mentioned. However, it was noted that they have not yet received formal written confirmation from the Yemeni government. Nimisha’s execution was initially set for July 16 but was stopped just a day earlier thanks to a direct request from Grand Mufti Musliyar to Yemeni authorities, asking for mercy.
Nimisha Priya, who is 38 years old, comes from Palakkad district in Kerala and moved to Yemen in 2008 for better job opportunities. As a qualified nurse, she later partnered with a Yemeni man named Talal Abdo Mahdi to run a clinic in the capital, Sanaa. Their relationship allegedly worsened when Mahdi began to harass her, falsely claiming to be her husband and took her passport, stopping her from going back to India. In an attempt to get her documents back, Priya is said to have sedated Mahdi in 2017. This resulted in tragedy, as Mahdi died from what was suspected to be a drug overdose. She was arrested, found guilty of murder in 2018, and sentenced to death by a Yemeni court in 2020. Her case gained international attention, especially after the Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi and Houthi leader Mahdi al-Mashat approved her execution in late 2024 and early 2025, respectively. However, the execution was delayed due to persistent diplomatic efforts from the Indian government and religious leaders.
