Flicker Of Hope: Indian Grand Mufti Steps In As Kerala Nurse Faces Gallows – Crucial Talks Underway IN Yemen’s Sanaa | World News
New Delhi/Sanaa: Urgent diplomatic and legal efforts are underway to stop the execution of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who is facing death sentenced in Yemen. Her execution is scheduled for July 16. The Supreme Court of India on July 14 heard a petition seeking intervention in the case, while parallel talks continue in Yemen between local authorities, tribal leaders and representatives from India.
The petition was filed by the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, a group campaigning to prevent her execution. During the Supreme Court hearing, Attorney General R. Venkataramani informed the bench that “the Government of India is doing whatever is utmost possible” but highlighted that “having regard to the sensitivity and status of Yemen as a place, there is nothing much the the government can do”.
Meanwhile, negotiations are underway in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa involving tribal leaders, judicial representatives and religious scholars. The talks are being attended by Habeeb Abdurahman Ali Mashhour, who is a representative of Shaikh Habeeb, along with a judge from the Jinayat court, representatives of the Yemeni government, tribal leaders and Talal’s brother.
The initiative was launched following a direct appeal by Indian Grand Mufti and All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama General Secretary Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar, who requested the victim’s family to pardon Priya without seeking blood money (diya). A statement issued from Kanthapuram’s office expressed hope that the outcome of the discussions may be known soon.
Originally from Palakkad district in Kerala, Priya was convicted in 2020 by a Yemeni court for the murder of her business partner, whom she allegedly drugged and killed in July 2017, with the assistance of another nurse.
According to Yemeni court documents, she then dismembered his body and disposed of the parts in an underground water tank. Her final appeal was rejected in 2023, and she is currently held at the Central Prison in Sanaa.
The Indian government continues to monitor the case, but its capacity to intervene directly remains limited, as India does not currently have an operational embassy in Yemen due to the ongoing civil conflict there.
The Supreme Court case, diplomatic appeals and tribal negotiations in Yemen are all unfolding simultaneously in a bid to prevent her execution. The situation remains fluid and a final decision from either side is awaited.
