Government Rejects Claim of Death Sentence Overturn in Nimisha Priya Case

New Delhi, July 29 – The Government of India has dismissed recent claims made by Kanthapuram A.P. Abubakar Musliyar, the self-styled ‘Grand Mufti of India’, regarding the status of Nimisha Priya’s death sentence in Yemen, calling them "inaccurate", according to Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) sources.

On Monday, Musliyar had issued a public statement asserting that the death sentence of Nimisha Priya, an Indian national currently imprisoned in Yemen, had been "completely overturned." However, he also admitted that no official written confirmation had been received from the Yemeni authorities.

“The information being shared by certain individuals regarding the Nimisha Priya case is not accurate,” MEA sources clarified on Tuesday.

Background of the Case

Nimisha Priya, a 37-year-old nurse from Kerala, was convicted of the murder of a Yemeni national, Mahdi, in 2017 and was sentenced to death by a Yemeni court in 2018. Her execution had been scheduled for July 16, 2025, but was recently postponed.

Earlier reports had suggested that a decision to revoke her death sentence was taken during a high-level meeting in Sana’a, attended by senior Yemeni scholars and international envoys. These discussions were reportedly initiated at the behest of the Grand Mufti, with the involvement of Sheikh Umar Hafeel Thangal. Musliyar’s office also claimed that significant progress had been made in the case, although further deliberations were said to be pending.

Details of the Conviction

Priya had moved to Yemen in 2008 and entered into a business partnership in 2015 with Mahdi, a Yemeni national, to run a medical clinic. As per Yemeni law, foreign nationals are not permitted to own such businesses independently, making Mahdi's involvement legally necessary.

However, Priya later alleged that the partnership turned abusive. She accused Mahdi of confiscating her passport, misappropriating funds, physically assaulting her, and severely restricting her movement.

In a desperate attempt to retrieve her passport in July 2017, Priya reportedly administered sedatives to Mahdi, which proved fatal. Panicked, she and a colleague attempted to conceal the crime by dismembering the body and hiding it in a water tank.

She was apprehended at a border checkpoint in August 2017. In 2018, a Yemeni criminal court found her guilty of administering unauthorized medication leading to death and attempting to conceal the crime. The verdict was subsequently upheld by higher courts, including Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council, which confirmed her death sentence in November 2023.