Nimisha Priya’s Death Sentence Overturned in Yemen, Confirms Grand Mufti’s Office

New Delhi, July 29, 2025: In a significant breakthrough for Nimisha Priya, the Indian nurse on death row in Yemen, the office of Indian Grand Mufti Kanthapuram AP Abubakker Musliyar has confirmed that her death sentence has been overturned. According to the statement, a high-level meeting held in Sanaa decided to fully cancel the death sentence that had earlier been suspended, offering a major relief in the long-contested case.

Nimisha, a trained nurse, had moved to Yemen in 2015 for work and later partnered with a Yemeni national, Talal Abdo Mahdi, to establish a clinic. Since foreigners are not allowed to own businesses in Yemen, the partnership was a legal workaround. However, what began as a professional arrangement reportedly turned into a nightmare.

According to her family, Mahdi manipulated a wedding photograph taken during a trip to India to falsely claim that he was married to Nimisha. He allegedly seized control of the clinic and began extorting her monthly earnings. Reports allege that Mahdi subjected Nimisha to repeated abuse, including physical torture, drug-induced assaults, and the confiscation of her passport to prevent her from fleeing the country.

After approaching the police and being briefly jailed instead of receiving protection, Nimisha allegedly attempted to sedate Mahdi to retrieve her passport. When a stronger dose was administered, Mahdi died of an overdose — leading to Nimisha’s arrest and eventual conviction for murder.

The cancellation of her death sentence brings hope to her supporters and family, who have long campaigned for her release.

Courtesy: TOI

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