Saturday, March 29, 2025
New Delhi, July 8, 2025: Indian national Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Palakkad, Kerala, is scheduled to be executed in Yemen on July 16, 2025, as per the latest ruling by the Yemeni Supreme Court and local authorities. Nimisha has been on death row since her conviction in the 2017 murder of her Yemeni partner and business associate Talal Abdo Mahdi.
2008: Nimisha moved to Yemen to work as a nurse.
2015: She co-founded a clinic with Talal, who allegedly took control of her documents fraudulently.
According to her defense, Talal confiscated her passport and subjected her to mental and physical abuse.
In a desperate bid to retrieve her passport, Nimisha allegedly administered a sedative to Talal, resulting in his accidental death.
She and an accomplice reportedly concealed the body in a water tank.
2017: Arrested and charged with murder.
2018: Trial court sentenced her to death by hanging.
2023: The Supreme Court of Yemen upheld the death sentence.
Under Sharia law in Yemen, the only legal option to avoid execution is through ‘Diya’ or blood money—a financial settlement offered to the victim’s family in exchange for pardoning the accused.
Nimisha’s family and Indian civil society organizations have offered $1 million (approx. ₹8.3 crore) to Talal’s family.
So far, Talal’s family has not accepted the offer, leaving Nimisha’s fate uncertain.
The Indian government claims to be making every possible diplomatic effort to delay or stop the execution. Indian activists and expatriate support networks are lobbying intensively, trying to persuade Talal’s family to accept the compensation.
Nimisha’s mother, Prema Kumari, works as a domestic helper in Kerala. Her husband and daughter have already returned to India and continue to fight for her release.
The Yemeni prison administration has formally informed Nimisha of her scheduled execution date: July 16, 2025. Legal and humanitarian interventions are ongoing, but time is running out.
If Talal’s family refuses to accept the blood money, Nimisha Priya will be hanged as per the court order. It would mark one of the rare executions of an Indian woman abroad and could further strain bilateral ties.
In Summary:
Indian nurse Nimisha Priya is set to be executed in Yemen on July 16 for the 2017 murder of her Yemeni business partner. Her family and the Indian government are making last-minute attempts to save her by offering blood money under Yemen’s Sharia law. If no resolution is reached, her execution will proceed as scheduled.
