The execution of Nimisha Priya, a Kerala nurse sentenced to death in Yemen for murdering her Yemeni business partner, has been postponed, sources confirmed to India Today.
Priya, 36, was scheduled to be executed on July 16, but intense efforts by the Indian government and prominent religious leaders have won critical time for negotiations. Under Yemen’s Sharia law, Priya can be spared if the victim’s family accepts blood money—$1 million in compensation—and grants forgiveness.
India’s Grand Mufti, Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar, has stepped in, holding talks with Yemeni religious authorities and arranging a meeting between victim Talal Abdo Mahdi’s family and respected Sufi scholar Sheikh Habib Umar bin Hafiz’s representatives in Dhamar.
On Monday, India’s Attorney General told the Supreme Court that the government had limited diplomatic options but was doing everything possible through private channels to save Priya’s life.
Priya was convicted in 2020 for injecting Mahdi with sedatives to retrieve her passport, causing his death. She has maintained her innocence, but Yemen’s Supreme Court rejected her final appeal last year.