Nimisha Priya’s death sentence not cancelled? Sources say claims ‘inaccurate’

The claims made by the office of Grand Mufti Kanthapuram AP Abubakker Muslaiyar that Nimisha Priya’s death sentence was overturned are not accurate, sources suggest. Earlier, ANI reported, citing the office of Indian Grand Mufti Kanthapuram AP Abubakker Muslaiyar, that the death sentence of the Kerala nurse has been “overturned” and “completely cancelled”. However, sources have told WION’s Assistant Editor Foreign Affairs Sidhant Sibal that the reports were “inaccurate”.

“Information being shared by certain individuals on the Nimisha Priya case is inaccurate,” said the sources.

The statement released by the office of Grand Mufti Kanthapuram AP Abubakker Muslaiyar said that, “The death sentence of Nimisha Priya, which was previously suspended, has been overturned. A high-level meeting held in Sanaa decided to completely cancel the death sentence that was temporarily suspended earlier.”

Earlier, on July 17, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the Indian government was offering all possible assistance in the complex case of Nimisha Priya. It added that she was being provided assistance, and a lawyer was appointed to assist the family.

Nimisha Priya, an Indian national from the state of Kerala, was accused of murdering a Yemeni national, Talal Abdo Mehdi, in June 2017. She was scheduled to be executed on July 16 after being convicted of the crime. In November 2023, her death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court of the country. Last year, Yemen’s President Rashad al-Alimi also approved her punishment.

The 37-year-old ran a clinic in the country with Mehdi’s support. However, she allegedly faced mental, physical and financial abuse by Mehdi, who seized her passport. It is claimed that Nimisha Priya killed him in self-defence or as an unintended consequence of an attempt to retrieve her passport.

The case has drawn nationwide attention and sympathy, with the government seeking a pardon of her death sentence - from either the authorities orMehdi’sfamily.