Kerala nurse Nimisha's death sentence in Yemen cancelled, claims Grand Mufti of India

International News: Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, imprisoned in Yemen, has gotten a big relief. According to the office of India's Grand Mufti and Sunni leader Kanthapuram AP Abubakar Musliyar, Nimisha's death sentence has been canceled. However, no official statement has come from the central government in this regard so far, nor has any such announcement been made by the Yemeni government.

In fact, the office of Indian Grand Mufti Kanthapuram AP Abubakar Musliar said that the death sentence in the case of Indian citizen Nimisha Priya, facing a death sentence in a murder case in Yemen, has been overturned.

Decision to abolish the death penalty altogether

According to the information, a high-level meeting held in Sana'a decided to completely abolish the death penalty, which was earlier temporarily suspended. Jawad Mustafavi claimed that this decision has been taken after the intervention of the Indian Grand Mufti. The Grand Mufti had appealed to Yemeni Sufi scholar Sheikh Umar Hafiz Thangal to send a delegation of Yemeni scholars.

This result was achieved after mediation talks were also attended by the ruling officials of northern Yemen and international diplomats. Mustafawi said that many important decisions were taken during the talks. Now further action will depend on the talks with the family of the deceased Talal Abdo Mahdi.

Why did Nimisha get the death penalty?

Let us tell you that Nimisha Priya, a resident of Palakkad in Kerala, reached Yemen in 2008 to work as a nurse. After working in many hospitals here, Nimisha returned to Kerala in 2011 and married Tommy Thomas here. Both have a daughter, who currently lives in Kerala.

Accused of murder

Now in the year 2015, Nimisha Priya started a medical clinic along with Yemeni citizen Talal Abdo Mahdi. In the year 2017, Mahdi's body was found in a water tank. Nimisha was accused of Mahdi's murder. It is alleged that Nimisha killed Mahdi by giving him an overdose of sleeping pills and tried to hide his body.

Arrested at the Yemen-Saudi border

A month after the murder, Nimisha Priya was arrested at the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border. Nimisha's lawyer argued that Mahdi had physically assaulted Nimisha and also confiscated her passport. However, Talal Abdo Mahdi's brother rejected these allegations. Then in 2020, a court in Sana sentenced Nimisha to death. In 2023, the Supreme Court of Yemen also upheld this sentence. Currently, Nimisha Priya is lodged in Sana'a jail.

Let us tell you that Nimisha was to be given a death sentence on 16th July this month, but after the initiative of the Government of India and many Muslim organizations of Kerala, the death sentence was postponed. Now the news of her death sentence being completely cancelled has come to light.