Nimisha Priya case: India in touch with ‘friendly governments’ to find solution

The 38-year-old Indian national’s execution was scheduled for July 16, but was postponed following the intervention of Indian officials. She is currently in a jail in Sana’a, the Yemeni capital city that is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis.

“This is a sensitive matter and the government of India has been offering all possible assistance in the case,” Jaiswal said at a media briefing.

VIDEO | Delhi: Responding to a question on the case of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia), while addressing a press briefing, said:

“This is a sensitive matter. The Government of India has been providing all possible assistance. We have… pic.twitter.com/bK0R8V8dAk

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 17, 2025

The nurse, hailing from Kollengode in Kerala’s Palakkad district, allegedly murdered Talal Abdo Mehdi, her local partner in opening a clinic, in July 2017. Mahdi had allegedly refused to share the income from the clinic, abused her and seized her documents including her passport.

Priya, with the help of a fellow nurse, allegedly tried to sedate Mahdi to get her papers back. But an overdose led to his death. Panicking, the duo chopped up Mahdi’s body and dumped it in a water tank. Both were eventually arrested.

In 2020, a Yemeni court handed her the death sentence and the country’s Supreme Judicial Council dismissed her appeal in November 2023.

“We have provided legal assistance and appointed a lawyer to assist the family. We have also arranged regular consular visits and been in constant touch with the local authorities and the family members to resolve the issue. This included concerted efforts in recent days to seek more time for the family of Nimisha Priya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party,” the MEA spokesperson said.

“We continue to closely follow the matter and render all possible assistance. We are also in touch with some friendly governments,” he said without naming the countries.

India doesn’t have any diplomatic presence in Yemen and diplomats in the Indian mission in Saudi Arabia were looking into the matter, it is learnt.

Jaiswal declined to respond to a question on the reported role played by the Grand Mufti, Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musaliyar, in the postponement of Priya’s execution.

The Sunni cleric from Kerala said he had spoken to prominent Yemeni scholars on behalf of Priya’s family to prevent her execution.

“As far as the role of the entity you mentioned is concerned, I have no information to share,” Jaiswal said.

Priya’s mother Premakumari travelled to Yemen last year as part of efforts to secure her release.

The Indian side had even explored the option of securing Priya’s release through “diyat” or paying “blood money”. But that step ran into problems, it is learnt.