'Will not pardon Nimisha Priya, God's law must be implemented,' say family of slain Yemeni citizen

SANA: Abdelfattah Mahdi, brother of slain Yemeni citizen Talal Abdo Mahdi, said that they will not pardon Nimisha Priya. The family's response is that they are not ready for any compromise. The family have made clear that they will settle for nothing less than her being put to death. Our stand on reconciliation is clear. We insist on the implementation of God's law, Talal's brother said in an interview with BBC Arabic on Monday. His response was before her execution was deferred.

'A cruel, horrific and heinous crime was committed. Our family had gone through a long, exhausting litigation process. There are attempts to distort the truth to justify the crime. Especially the India media is portraying the convicted as a victim and we regret it.

It is clear that their goal is to influence public opinion. No matter what the dispute, no matter how big the reasons, a murder cannot be justified. Chopping the body, mutilating, hiding the body, there is no need to say more about this,' said Abdulfattah Mahdi.

Nimisha Priya murdered Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017. She was a nurse and started a clinic in Yemen with Mahdi. He constantly subjected Nimisha Priya to mental torture and sexual abuse, and threatened her at gunpoint. He cheated Nimisha Priya and extorted all her money. He confiscated her passport and tortured her without allowing her to leave the country.

A Yemeni woman identified as Hanan, who was Nimisha Priya’s colleague, was also a constant victim of Mahdi's harassment. Nimisha Priya tried to escape after injecting Mahdi with a sedative. She had planned to retrieve her passport once he became unconscious but Mehdi died and Priya was arrested while trying to leave Yemen.

Meantime, although her execution has been postponed, the Center was not ready to make a public response on the matter. The reason for this is the situation in Yemen. The situation in Yemen is complex. The Center has also stated that unnecessary disputes will affect the efforts for her release.