Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who was jailed in Yemen on charges of killing her employer, is on the death row. The sentence was suspended earlier this month after protracted negotiations.
Conflicting reports emerged Tuesday regarding the death sentence of Nimisha Priya, the Indian nurse imprisoned in Yemen since her 2017 conviction for the murder of a Yemeni national. While a tweet by India’s Grand Mufti suggested that the execution may have been cancelled, sources quoted by news agency ANI, however, suggested that the information “is inaccurate”.
Nimisha Priya case | Information being shared by certain individuals on the Nimisha Priya case is inaccurate: Sources https://t.co/nWDEzzsy3l
— ANI (@ANI) July 29, 2025
Grand Mufti Issues Statement
According to a statement issued by the office of Indian Grand Mufti Kanthapuram AP Abubakker Musliyar, “The death sentence of Nimisha Priya, which was previously suspended, has been overturned. A high-level meeting held in Sanaa decided to completely cancel the death sentence that was temporarily suspended earlier.”
Priya, a 37-year-old nurse from Kerala, had travelled to Yemen in 2011 for work. In 2015, she entered into a business partnership with a Yemeni national, Talal Abdo Mahdi, to establish a clinic. As per Yemeni laws, foreigners are not allowed to run businesses independently, so Priya’s association with Mahdi became a legal necessity. However, the partnership turned abusive over time.
Mahdi allegedly misused a wedding photograph taken during a trip to India to falsely claim marriage with Priya, following which he took control of the clinic and began siphoning off her income. According to her family, Mahdi also subjected her to months of physical abuse, drug-induced assaults, and withheld her passport, effectively trapping her in the country.
In desperation, Priya is believed to have attempted to retrieve her passport by sedating Mahdi. But when a higher dose of the sedative was used, Mahdi died from an overdose. The incident led to Priya’s arrest and her subsequent conviction for murder.
In desperation, Priya is believed to have attempted to retrieve her passport by sedating Mahdi. But when a higher dose of the sedative was used, Mahdi died from an overdose. The incident led to Priya’s arrest and her subsequent conviction for murder.