Hectic last-minute talks are underway to save the life of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen, with only a few hours left for the scheduled execution. Priya is currently held in a jail in Yemen and faces capital punishment after being accused of murdering her former business partner, Talal Abdo Mehdi, in 2017.
The talks involve the local Chief Justice of the Yemeni court, a senior cleric from the influential Shoora Council, and members of Mehdi’s family.
As per a member of the village council in Palakkad, Priya’s hometown, discussions have begun with the hope that Mehdi’s family will agree to accept blood money.
Islamic law provides a blood money provision that could defer or cancel her execution scheduled for Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Kerala Governor Rajendra V Arlekar also intervened and spoke to the officials of the Ministry of External Affairs.
MA Yusuf Ali, a Kerala billionaire, has expressed his willingness to provide monetary aid in any capacity.
Efforts to intervene further intensified after Kerala’s Grand Mufti, Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar, reportedly reached out to a friend in Yemen’s Shoora Council to help mediate.
However, politicians across party lines in Kerala have appealed to the Union government and the President of India for urgent intervention.
Priya’s husband, Tomy Thomas, and their daughter have also been tirelessly campaigning for her release.
The Supreme Court of India heard the case on Monday and said there is nothing much the government can do to save her.
Nimisha Priya relocated to Yemen in 2008 to support her family and initially worked as a nurse before opening her clinic.
In 2017, after a conflict with her business partner, she allegedly administered sedatives to him to retrieve her confiscated passport.
The sedatives turned out to be fatal, leading to his death.
Authorities apprehended her while she was trying to flee the country, and they convicted her of murder in 2018.
In 2020, the death penalty was reinstated, which was upheld by Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023.
However, the court left room for mercy by permitting a blood money arrangement.
The case has raised national and international concern, highlighting the vulnerability of Indian migrant workers in conflict-ridden regions.
Priya’s mother, Prema Kumari, played an important role in the campaign to save her daughter.
She even travelled to Sanaa to try and negotiate with the victim’s family directly.
NRI activists and social workers operating under the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council are offering her strong support.
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