Information circulated by Indian religious leaders Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musaliyar, the Grand Mufti, and evangelist KA Paul regarding Nimisha Priya’s case in Yemen has been deemed inaccurate, according to individuals familiar with the matter.
Priya, a 38-year-old Indian nurse, is currently imprisoned in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, for the alleged murder of her former business partner Talal Abdo Mahdi. Reports claimed her death sentence was revoked, but Indian officials handling the case have not confirmed any such developments.
Priya was arrested in July 2017 after allegedly injecting Mahdi with sedatives to retrieve her withheld passport amid growing personal and financial disputes. The overdose reportedly resulted in his death. A Yemeni court sentenced her to death in 2020, and the Supreme Judicial Council rejected her appeal in November 2023.
Her execution, initially set for July 16, was delayed after interventions by Indian authorities and expatriate communities. As India has no diplomatic mission in Yemen, the case is being managed via the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia.
Officials are seeking a resolution through “diyat”, an Islamic practice that allows a death sentence to be waived if blood money is accepted by the victim’s family. Priya’s mother, Premakumari, has been in Yemen to lead negotiations with the victim’s relatives, assisted by a group of non-resident Indians.
However, the lack of official ties with Houthi rebels, who control Sanaa, continues to pose challenges.