In a major relief for Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, Yemeni authorities have cancelled her death sentence in a murder case, the office of Indian Grand Mufti Kanthapuram AP Abubakker Musliyar confirmed, as reported by news agency ANI.
Her execution, originally scheduled for July 16, had already been put on hold just a day earlier after Grand Mufti Musliyar stepped in and urged Yemeni officials to reconsider the case. Now, following a high-level meeting in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, the sentence has been revoked entirely.
“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,” ANI quoted the Grand Mufti’s office as saying.
Nimisha’s family, including her 13-year-old daughter Mishel and husband Thomas, had travelled to Yemen along with Indian Christian evangelist KA Paul to appeal to Houthi authorities for her release.
In a video shared by news agency PTI, Mishel can be seen expressing her love for her mother, saying “I love you, mamma” in a mix of Malayalam and English, though her full message was unclear.
Last week, the Ministry of External Affairs had said it was providing full support to Nimisha and her family, and that the Indian government was in touch with “friendly governments” to help with the case.
Grand Mufti Musliyar played a key role in halting Nimisha’s execution. He had earlier explained that he stepped in because of India’s limited diplomatic ties with Yemen.
“India has, in the past, seen positive outcomes from similar interventions in Gulf countries and beyond. Given that Yemen is a region with which India presently has limited diplomatic engagement, I felt that such an effort is indeed required of us,” he had said.
Nimisha Priya was convicted in 2020 for the murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi, which took place in July 2017. In 2023, the Houthis’ Supreme Judicial Council upheld the sentence and rejected her appeal for bail. She had been on death row and was set