Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya's execution in Yemen postponed
What's the story
The execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, which was scheduled for July 16 in Yemen, has been postponed, multiple news channels reported. The decision comes after intense diplomatic efforts by India and the intervention of a spiritual leader from Kerala. Priya was convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner, Talal Abdo Mehdi, and sentenced to death in 2020. Accordingt to TNIE, the spiritual leader had reached out to the family of the Yemeni victim to accept blood money.
Diplomatic efforts
What India said in SC
"The Government of India, which has been extending all possible assistance since the beginning of the case, made concerted efforts in recent days to seek more time for Ms. Nimisha Priya's family to reach a mutually agreeable resolution with the victim's family," a source told ANI. On Monday, the Indian government told the Supreme Court that it had been unable to make any diplomatic headway in Priya's case because it falls under a Houthi-controlled area.
Legal proceedings
SC adjourns matter to July 18
Attorney General R Venkataramani, representing the Centre, told the SC, "There's nothing much the government can do. There's a point till which the government...can go. We have reached that." "We also told the public prosecutor if the execution can be suspended. But it has not worked out. Nothing matters to Yemen government. We also got involved with a sheikh influential there. It did not work out." Despite this, Indian officials have stayed in touch with Yemeni jail authorities and prosecutors.
Trust
₹11 crore offered to Yemeni national's family
In a bid to postpone the execution, advocacy groups and influential religious leaders stepped in to negotiate a last-minute resolution. Advocate Subhash Chandran KR, who is representing Priya, told Onmanorama that Rahim's trust that previously helped save Abdul Rahim in Saudi Arabia was willing to offer ₹11 crore if Mahdi's family agrees to accept blood money. Philanthropists M A Yusuff Ali and Boby Chemmanur have also pledged ₹1 crore each toward any potential settlement.
Case
Her conviction was upheld in 2023
Priya was accused of allegedly drugging and murdering Mehdi with another nurse, dismembering his body, and hiding it in an underground tank in 2017 after he had abused her and confiscated her passport. Her conviction was upheld by Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023. It, however, left room for a possible respite through "blood money" or compensation for the victim's family, which the family of the Yemeni national has not accepted, saying "it is question of honor. "