NEW DELHI/PALAKKAD– Abdelfattah Mehdi, the brother of Talal Abdo Mehdi—who was allegedly murdered by Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen in 2017—has strongly asserted that there can be no forgiveness for the crime.
“She must be executed,” Abdelfattah said, rejecting any possibility of clemency. He also expressed frustration with what he described as biased coverage by Indian media, accusing it of portraying the convicted as a victim.
Nimisha Priya was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday. However, her death sentence has been put on hold following extensive diplomatic efforts, religious outreach, and backchannel negotiations involving Indian and Yemeni stakeholders.
The Indian government has played a key role in seeking a resolution, alongside Saudi-based organizations and religious figures including Grand Mufti Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar. According to reports, Musliyar reached out to a contact in Yemen’s Shura Council to mediate.
CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan met with Musliyar on Wednesday and confirmed that the execution has been postponed. “Musliyar informed me that the execution has been deferred, and discussions are ongoing with both Yemeni authorities and the victim’s family,” Govindan said.
While the suspension of the execution has brought temporary relief, the final decision rests with the victim’s family, who alone can grant a pardon under Yemeni law.
Negotiators, including religious leaders and officials, are now trying to persuade the family to accept diya, or “blood money”—a financial compensation allowed under Sharia law in exchange for forgiveness in murder cases. Reports indicate that differences of opinion have emerged within the victim’s family, complicating negotiations.
Sources say that the next phase of talks will center around the amount and transfer of the blood money. Prominent Kerala billionaire M.A. Yusuf Ali has pledged to provide whatever financial support is necessary to save Priya’s life.
The Indian government’s continued involvement has been crucial, as political leaders from across party lines in Kerala have called on the Union government and the President to intervene on Priya’s behalf.
Priya moved to Yemen in 2008 to support her family and initially worked as a nurse before opening her own clinic. In 2017, a dispute with her business partner, Talal Abdo Mehdi, escalated. She allegedly administered sedatives to him in an attempt to retrieve her confiscated passport, but the drugs proved fatal.
She was arrested while trying to flee the country and was convicted of murder in 2018. Her death sentence was handed down in 2020 and upheld by Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023, though the court permitted the possibility of clemency through a blood money arrangement.
Priya remains incarcerated in a Yemeni prison as negotiations continue. (Source: IANS)
