Fact Check: Was Nimisha Priya’s Death Sentence Cancelled?

Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya’s case gained international attention after she was sentenced to death following conviction in a 2017 murder case in Yemen. Originally, she was scheduled to be executed on July 16 but was halted just a day before following a direct appeal by Grand Mufti Musliyar to the Yemeni officials, seeking clemency.

A few days later, there were reports stating that Nimisha Priya’s death sentence has been officially cancelled. Now, the Ministry of External Affairs rejected the claims that the death sentence of Priya had been cancelled.

“Information being shared by certain individuals on the Nimisha Priya case is inaccurate,” MEA sources said. On Monday, the office of the Grand Mufti of India Kanthapuram AP Abubakar Musliyar claimed that Nimisha’s death sentence had been officially cancelled. Earlier, her death sentence was temporarily suspended.

“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,” read a statement issued by the Grand Mufti’s office as quoted by ANI.

However, the MEA clarified that it has not yet received official written confirmation from the Yemeni government about the complete cancellation of the death sentence.

What Is The Case?

Nimisha Priya (38), a native of Kerala’s Palakkad district, moved to Yemen in 2008 in search of better opportunities. Later, she started a clinic in the capital city, Sanaa, with partnership from Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi. However, trouble began when Mahdi began harassing her, claiming to be her husband. He even confiscated her passport, preventing her return to India.

In 2017, Priya planned to sedate him to retrieve the documents but the attempt proved fatal as Mahdi died of suspected overdose. She was arrested and convicted of murder in 2018. 

Two years later, she was sentenced to death by a Yemeni court in 2020.