NEW DELHI, INDIA — There are conflicting stories about what will happen to Nimisha Priya, the Indian nurse who is currently on death row in Yemen. On Wednesday, July 30, 2025, officials who knew about the case said without a certainty that assertions made by a preacher from Kerala that her death sentence had been overturned were “incorrect.” They also told the people to stay away from “misinformation and speculation on this sensitive matter.”
The Grand Mufti of India’s office, Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musaliyar, had said previously that Priya’s death sentence had been totally lifted after high-level negotiations and mediation in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital that is occupied by Houthi rebels. But sources in New Delhi, who did not want to be named, said these assertions were not true. “We have read stories that make assertions about the Nimisha Priya case. “These are wrong,” said one official. “We ask everyone to stay away from rumors and false information about this sensitive issue.”
Indian officials’ denial goes against what Musaliyar’s office said, which had helped put Priya’s execution on hold for a short time.
Execution Delayed, But No Real Progress
The original date for Nimisha Priya’s execution was July 16, 2025. Indian officials and non-resident Indians have worked hard to get the date pushed back for the 38-year-old nurse from Kerala. She is still in jail in Sanaa.
Even though her execution has been put on hold for now, officials have made it clear that there has been no real progress in Priya’s case since the delay. This means that, even if a major deadline was missed, the legal and diplomatic problems are still quite serious. Adding to the confusion, the brother of the dead person, Talal Abdo Mahdi, Abdul Fattah Mahdi, has publicly denied any reconciliation or mediation and has called for her quick execution, repeating his family’s desire for “Qisas” (retributive punishment in Islamic law).
The Difficulties of a Diplomatic Quagmire Priya, who is from Kollengode in the Palakkad region of Kerala, was found guilty of killing her Yemeni business partner, Talal Abdo Mahdi, and condemned to death by a Yemeni court in 2020. The Supreme Judicial Council of Yemen turned down her appeal in November 2023, which meant that she had used up all of her legal options in the Yemeni court system.
India doesn’t have any diplomats in Yemen, which is in the middle of a long civil war, so this situation is especially hard. Because of this, the Indian delegation in Saudi Arabia has been in charge of the complicated and delicate talks.
The External Affairs Ministry said on July 17 that it was in touch with Yemeni officials and certain “friendly nations” to find a “mutually agreeable solution.” The ministry’s spokeswoman has not said anything directly about the purported participation of Grand Mufti Musaliyar in delaying Priya’s execution, keeping official silence on such sensitive diplomatic issues.
“Blood Money” and the Family of the Victim’s Refusal
The Indian government and those that support it have worked hard to stop the execution by using the Islamic practice of “diyat,” or “blood money.” This part of Islamic law lets the victim’s family forgive the accused in exchange for money. Premakumari, Priya’s mother, had even gone to Yemen before to help with the talks for the blood money.
The family of the victim, Talal Abdo Mahdi, has said several times that they will not accept to any settlement and want the death penalty. The victim’s family’s refusal to change their minds is still the biggest obstacle to getting Priya released through the diyat procedure.
Reports say that Nimisha Priya gave Mahdi sedatives in an effort to get her passport back. He had allegedly refused to provide it to her because of growing personal and financial problems. He is said to have died from taking too many sedatives. Her supporters say that the trial wasn’t fair because Priya doesn’t speak Arabic and didn’t have a lawyer or translator.
As things stand, Nimisha Priya’s fate is still up in the air. There are ongoing, complicated diplomatic and humanitarian efforts trying to traverse a very difficult legal and cultural terrain in a country that is at war.