• Source:JND
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Relief swept through Kerala this week as the scheduled execution of Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse imprisoned in Yemen, was postponed just hours before it was to take place. The stay of execution came as the result of intense diplomatic and humanitarian efforts across multiple countries, with officials, legal experts, religious leaders, and advocacy groups uniting to save her life.

Nimisha Priya, a native of Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, moved to Yemen in 2008 in search of better employment opportunities to support her ageing parents. She worked in local hospitals before eventually opening her own clinic. In accordance with local law, she partnered with a Yemeni national, Talal Abdol Mahdi, a decision that would later spiral into tragedy.

According to her family and legal advocates, Mahdi harassed Priya, confiscated her passport, and stole her earnings, effectively trapping her in the country. In 2017, she injected him with a sedative in a desperate bid to retrieve her documents and flee. Mahdi died from the dose, and Priya was arrested while attempting to cross into Saudi Arabia.

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Trial Without Representation

Priya's trial in Yemen raised widespread concerns about due process. According to Supreme Court advocate KR Subhash Chandran, the entire trial was conducted in Arabic, a language Priya does not speak. She was not provided with a lawyer or interpreter, a violation that supporters argue justifies a retrial. Despite this, she was sentenced to death in 2018, a decision upheld after a second trial in 2020.

In the aftermath, the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council was formed to raise awareness and negotiate her release. Efforts included raising over $1 million to offer as diyah (blood money), which under Yemen’s Sharia law allows for a pardon if accepted by the victim’s family.

While Priya’s family clings to hope, Mahdi’s family has remained firm. “We insist on implementing God’s law in Qisas, nothing else,” said Mahdi’s brother, Abdelfattah Mahdi, to BBC Arabic.

He emphasised that the family endured not just the loss of a loved one, but a lengthy and painful legal process. His rejection of diyah has so far derailed all reconciliation attempts.

Last-Minute Reprieve

Priya’s execution was scheduled for July 16, 2025, but was postponed after eleventh-hour intervention led by Sufi scholars and humanitarian leaders, including Kanthapuram Aboobacker Musliyar. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan praised the united efforts, calling it “a result of tireless compassion and brotherhood.”

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Her husband, Tomy Thomas, expressed cautious relief. “We are happy and relieved. I hope efforts will continue to save her and bring her back home,” he told PTI.

Though the postponement is a critical reprieve, Priya’s future remains uncertain. Negotiations with Mahdi’s family continue, even as Indian and Iranian officials explore diplomatic solutions. Her mother remains in Sanaa, persistently working toward a resolution.