Reports claiming Nimisha Priya's death sentence ‘overturned' in Yemen not accurate: Sources
The reports citing a statement from the office of Indian Grand Mufti, Kanthapuram AP Abubakr Musliyar, media said 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.
LiveMint couldn't verify Grand Mufti's statement. Unlike in the past, it was not posted on his website or social media handles. His X handle, however, shared the news agency's now-withdrawn tweet about Nimisha Priya's death sentence being overturned.
Indian officials handling the case have not confirmed the development so far. Sources, however, said that the information shared by 'certain individuals' on the Nimisha Priya case.
'Information being shared by certain individuals on the Nimisha Priya case is inaccurate,' sources said on Monday.
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.
Nimisha's execution, originally scheduled to happen on July 16, was halted temporarily just a day earlier, after Grand Mufti intervened and requested Yemeni authorities to reconsider.
Nimisha's 13-year-old daughter, Mishel, and her husband had appealed to the Yemeni government for the woman's release. Mishel had travelled to Yemen to join Global Peace Initiative founder and evangelist Dr KA Paul in appealing to the Yemeni government for Priya's release.
Priya, originally from the Palakkad district of Kerala, was convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner, Talal Abdo Mahdi, in 2017. She was sentenced to death in 2020, and her final appeal was rejected in 2023.
According to Yemeni court documents, Priya, in July 2017, allegedly drugged and killed Mahdi. She is currently lodged in a prison in Yemen's capital, Sanaa.
Earlier on July 17, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said 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 partnered with Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni citizen, to set up her clinic in Sanaa.
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