Authorities in Yemen have temporarily postponed the execution of Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse sentenced to death for the 2017 murder of her former Yemeni business partner, according to sources from India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
Priya, a native of Kerala in southern India, was scheduled to be executed on 16 July after being convicted of killing Talal Abdo Mahdi, whose dismembered body was found in a water tank.
The 34-year-old nurse has denied intentionally killing Mahdi, claiming the act was unintentional and driven by self-defense during a dispute.
Indian officials said Tuesday that they have been in consistent contact with Yemeni authorities in an effort to delay the execution and secure a path to reconciliation.
“The government made concerted efforts in recent days to seek more time for the family of Ms Nimisha Priya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party,” foreign ministry sources said.
Under Yemen’s Islamic legal framework, or Sharia, those convicted of murder may be spared execution if the victim’s family agrees to pardon them in exchange for diyah, commonly known as blood money.
Campaigners working to save Priya’s life, including the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, have reportedly offered $1 million to Mahdi’s family in exchange for clemency.
“We are still trying to save her. But ultimately the family has to agree for pardon,” said Babu John, a member of the campaign council.
Priya’s mother, a domestic helper, has been in Yemen since April 2024, personally appealing to the victim’s family and supporting her daughter’s legal fight. She has nominated Yemen-based social worker Samuel Jerome to lead negotiations with Mahdi’s relatives.
Nimisha Priya had moved to Yemen in 2008 to work as a nurse and later entered into a business partnership with Mahdi.
She was arrested in 2017 after the murder and sentenced to death in 2020. An appeal to Yemen’s Supreme Court was rejected in 2023, and earlier this year, Houthi leader Mahdi al-Mashat signed off on the execution order.
Priya remains in Sanaa’s central jail as efforts continue behind the scenes to save her life.
