Death Row Breather: Kerala Nurse Nimisha Priya’s Death Row Sentence in Yemen Postponed

Kerala Nurse Nimisha Priya, who is currently on her death row punishment in Yemen will have a breather in her sentence as India’s intervention leads to postponement of her execution. Initially announced to be executed on 17 July, the date is now postponed. 

“GoI, 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 Ms. Nimishapriya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party”, a Times of India source reported.

“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,” the sources further said.

The Palakkad nurse has been accused of killing her business partner Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017 and is on death row since 2020. The murder is said to be sprouted after Mahdi confiscating Proya’s passport and abusing her and Yemen court learned that Priya sedated Mahdi before killing and dismembering him and dumping it in a water tank with the help of a local woman. 

Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council upheld her sentence in 2023 yet her prison, which is located in Sanaa, the capital, is currently under the territory of Houthi and outside diplomatic control. 

Priya’s mother and a social worker are currently in Yemen and are in negotiation with Mahdi’s family for blood money, a financial compensation that is approved under the Sharia Law. Priya’s legal team supported by the NGO ‘Save Nimisha Priya – International Action Council’ has yet to request government funding for the compensation. 

The court adjourned the matter to July 18, asking both sides to report on the status of the negotiations.