The scheduled execution of Nimisha Priya, a Keralite who was sentenced to death for murder in Yemen, has been postponed to July 16. The Indian government is making coordinated efforts in this case and is constantly monitoring the situation.
In a weekly press conference, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that the government has provided legal aid to Nimisha Priya and appointed a lawyer to support the family. The ministry has ensured that regular consular visits are held and the Indian Embassy remains in touch with local authorities and the family.
The spokesperson also said that special efforts have been made in the past few days so that the affected family can get additional time to reach an amicable settlement with the aggrieved party. Help has also been sought from some friendly nations in this regard.
Nimisha Priya went to Yemen as a nurse in 2008 and later set up her own clinic in 2015. She established a business relationship with Talal Abdo Mahdi due to the requirement for a local partner under Yemeni law, but their relationship later became strained.
According to Nimisha, Mahdi abused her and confiscated her passport. In 2017, in an attempt to retrieve her passport, she injected Mahdi with a sedative, causing him to die from an overdose. He was convicted in 2018, sentenced to death in 2020, and the sentence was upheld by Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council in 2023.