Execution Of Indian Nurse Nimisha Priya Postponed By Yemeni Authorities
The scheduled execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya on death row in Yemen has reportedly been postponed, according to government sources cited in media reports. The Kerala native, who was slated to be executed on July 16, has received a temporary reprieve.
Priya, a 38-year-old nurse from Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, was convicted of murdering a Yemeni national in July 2017. She is currently imprisoned in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, which is under the control of the Iran-backed Houthi faction.
“Government of India, which has since the beginning of the case been rendering all possible assistance in the matter, has made concerted efforts in recent days to seek more time for the family of Nimisha Priya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party. Despite the sensitivities involved, Indian officials have been in regular touch with the local jail authorities and the prosecutor’s office, leading to securing this postponement,” news agency ANI reported, citing sources.
This update comes just a day after the Indian government informed the Supreme Court that its ability to intervene in the matter was limited. “There is a point till which the Government of India can go. We have reached that,” the Centre’s counsel told the apex court on Monday.
Nimisha Priya moved to Yemen in 2011 to work as a nurse, accompanied by her husband and daughter. While her family later returned to India, Priya continued to reside in Sana’a, where she eventually entered into a business partnership with a Yemeni man, Talal Abdo Mahdi, to open a clinic.
According to Priya, Mahdi allegedly forged documents to claim he was married to her and subjected her to repeated physical, emotional, and financial abuse. She told Yemeni authorities that he confiscated her passport and frequently drugged her. In 2020, Priya was convicted of Mahdi’s murder and sentenced to death by a Yemeni court. The Houthis’ Supreme Judicial Council upheld the sentence in November 2023.
The Indian government has been making diplomatic efforts to delay the execution and facilitate negotiations between Priya’s family and the victim’s relatives, in the hope of securing a resolution under Yemen’s legal framework, which allows for clemency through financial compensation or forgiveness by the victim’s family.
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