Nimisha's death sentence overturned, says Indian Grand Mufti Muslaiyar's office
According to a statement issued by the Grand Mufti's office, the decision was made after a high-level meeting held in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, where it was decided to completely cancel the death sentence, which had been temporarily suspended earlier.
"The death sentence of Nimisha Priya, which was previously suspended, has been overturned. A high-level meeting held in Sanaa decided to completely cancel the death sentence that was temporarily suspended earlier," the statement read.
Nimisha Priya, a 37-year-old Indian nurse from Kerala, was scheduled to be executed on July 16, after she was convicted of killing a Yemeni national in June 2018, a decision that was upheld by the country's Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023.
However, her execution was postponed, following "concerted efforts" by the Government of India.
Earlier on July 17, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that it was actively working to support Nimisha Priya and was extending all possible assistance in the case.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, during a press briefing, stated that the MEA had appointed a lawyer to assist Priya's family in navigating the complex legal process in Yemen. This includes exploring options for clemency or pardon under Sharia law.
Nimisha Priya is a trained nurse and has worked in private hospitals in Yemen for a few years.
Her husband and minor daughter returned to India in 2014 because of financial reasons, and in that same year, Yemen was gripped by civil war, and they could not go back as the country stopped issuing new visas.
Later in 2015, Nimisha joined hands with a Yemeni citizen, Talal Abdo Mahdi, to set up her clinic in Sanaa.
She sought Mahdi's support because, under Yemen's law, only nationals are allowed to set up clinics and business firms. In 2015, Mahdi accompanied Nimisha Priya to Kerala when she came for a month-long holiday. During the visit, he stole a wedding photograph of Nimisha, which he later manipulated to claim that he was married to her.
A plea made by the mother of Nimisha Priya had stated, "After a while, Nimisha's clinic began, Mahdi manipulated the ownership documents of the clinic. He also began to take money out of her monthly earnings after telling everyone that Nimisha was his wife. Nimisha had alleged that Mahdi had been harassing her and her family for years. Mahdi also seized her passport. This was done to ensure that she would not leave Yemen. He tortured her under the influence of drugs. He threatened her at gunpoint several times. He took all the money from the clinic and her ornaments."
The plea further alleged that, unable to cope with the torture, Nimisha complained to the police in Sanaa, but instead of taking action against Mahdi, the police arrested her and put her in jail for six days. It was further alleged that on her return from jail, the severity of the torture increased manifold. In July 2017, Nimisha took the help of a warden of a jail located near her clinic.
The warden suggested that she should try to sedate him and then convince him to give her the passport.
However, sedation did not affect Mahdi, who was a substance abuser. She tried sedating him again, using a stronger sedative in order to retrieve her passport, but he died within a few minutes due to a drug overdose.
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