Nimisha Priya execution in Yemen still possible? Brother of victim says 'retribution, nothing else'

After the execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya was indefinitely postponed by Yemeni authorities on Tuesday (July15), the brother of the victim said that they will continue to seek retribution, or execution of Priya, despite the family being under immense pressure from different corners to reconcile. The execution was slated to happen on Wednesday (July 16), but the order postponing the execution had surfaced on Tuesday.

Abdelfattah Mahdi, brother Talal Abdo Mahdi took to social media platform Facebook and expressed in Arabaci about his despleasure over the postponement of Nimisha's execution.

“What is achieved and heard today from mediation and attempts for peace is nothing new or surprising. Throughout our years, there have been hidden pursuits and efforts to mediate. This is normal and expected...But the pressure has not changed anything in us. Our demand is retribution, nothing else,” wrote Abdelfattah, as confirmed by Hindustan Times.

Those who are closely associated with the case are of the view that this temporary postponement does not mean anything significant, and that the risk of Priya's execution in Yemen remains very high.

Samuel Jerome, an Indian national who has been residing in Yemen for more than two decades and has been leading efforts to secure the release of Nimisha told WION, "Getting a temporary postponement of execution does not mean that we have all the time in the world. The execution could happen even tomorrow. The victim's family would not keep quiet; they will protest, and the Yemeni authorities will be forced to take action."

Meanwhile, members of the India-based Nimisha Priya International Action Council maintain that efforts are on to reach out to the victim's family to seek pardon and to offer them blood money.

Nimisha Priya's Case

Nimisha, who hails from Kerala's Palakkad district went to Yemen in 2008 and worked as a nurse in a Government-run hospital in Sana'a. In a few months she quit her job and started her own clinic with another woman and Yemeni national Talal, who later subjected her to physical and mental abuse and confiscated her passport, according to Nimisha's India-based lawyer Subhash Chandan.

In a desperate bid to escape the abuse and flee, Priya and the Yemeni woman allegedly drugged Talal, which reportedly led to his death. Later, Talal's was found by the Yemeni authorities in a mutilated condition that complicated the case further.