Nimisha Priya death sentence: Kanthapuram makes crucial intervention, contacts religious leader in Yemen

KOZHIKODE: Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar has made a crucial intervention in the effort to save Malayali nurse Nimisha Priya, who has been sentenced to be executed in Yemen. As part of the efforts for her release, Kanthapuram has contacted a religious leader in Yemen and also spoke with the brother of the Yemeni citizen who was killed. This intervention came at the request of MLA Chandy Oommen.

Earlier, Nimisha Priya’s mother, Premakumari, had submitted a petition to the Yemeni government requesting that her daughter’s death sentence be commuted. Discussions are ongoing between the family of the murdered Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi and representatives of the Action Council working for Nimisha's release. There is hope for a compromise, particularly on the matter of blood money.

The execution is scheduled for Wednesday, July 16. The Indian government is expected to respond on Monday to a petition filed by the Action Council requesting intervention to save Nimisha Priya from execution. The victim’s family has reportedly demanded around Rs 8 crore as blood money.

Nimisha Priya, a native of Palakkad, Kerala, was working in Yemen when the crime occurred. She was accused of murdering a Yemeni citizen. All legal options to avoid the death penalty have been exhausted, and it is now believed that a pardon from the victim’s family is the only way to save her. The murder that led to the case happened in July 2017, and Nimisha was arrested the following month. According to the case details, Nimisha and an associate killed the Yemeni man and hid the body in a water tank on the rooftop. After her arrest, the trial was completed, and in 2018, she was sentenced to death.