Big Relief: Yemen Revokes Death Sentence of Nimisha Priya, Grand Mufti Confirms
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): A big relief news has come about Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, who was sentenced to death for murder in Yemen. The office of India's Grand Mufti Kanthapuram AP Abubakar Musliyar issued a statement on Monday saying that Nimisha's death sentence has now been completely canceled.
Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya's death sentence in Yemen revoked, Grand Mufti's office confirms: However, it was also clarified in the statement that official written confirmation has not yet been received from the Yemen government. It was told that this decision was taken during a high-level meeting in Yemen's capital Sanaa. According to a media report, this information has been given by the Grand Mufti's office. At the same time, sources in the Ministry of External Affairs have exercised caution on this matter and said that some wrong information regarding this case is being shared on social media and other mediums, which has not been confirmed.
34-year-old nurse Nimisha Priya, a resident of Palakkad in Kerala, went to Yemen in 2008 for a job. There she opened a clinic in partnership with local citizen Talal Abdo Mahdi. But later their relationship deteriorated. According to media reports, Mahdi started harassing her and started calling himself her husband. Not only this, he also confiscated Nimisha's passport so that she could not return to India.
It is said that in 2017, Nimisha allegedly tried to make Mahdi unconscious to get her passport back, but he died due to overdose. After this, the Yemeni administration arrested Nimisha. In 2018, she was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 2020.
The case soon made international headlines. Human rights organisations and social activists campaigned for Nimisha's release. The situation became more serious when Yemeni President Rashad al-Alimi in December 2024 and Houthi rebel leader Mahdi al-Mashat in January 2025 approved the execution.
After this, active efforts were made at the diplomatic and religious level in India. In this sequence, now the office of the Grand Mufti has informed that the death sentence of Nimisha Priya has been completely canceled in a high-level meeting in Yemen. At present, the Government of India and the Ministry of External Affairs are waiting for official confirmation from Yemen. If this news is formally confirmed, it will prove to be a big relief for Nimisha Priya and her family.