Abdelfattah Mehdi, brother of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mehdi, who was reportedly killed by Indian nurse Nimisha Priya in 2017, has made it categorically clear that his family will never forgive the crime.
In an interview with the media, he emphasized that "Nimisha Priya has to be executed" and condemned the Indian media for "distorting things to show the convicted as a victim."
Though Priya was initially set to be executed on Wednesday, the sentence has been temporarily stayed by virtue of continuing multi-layered negotiations. The Indian government, numerous Saudi-based agencies, and religious intermediaries such as Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar have helped to arrange for the execution to be postponed.
Musliyar is said to have reached out to a Yemen Shoora Council friend to assist in mediating the issue, which seems to have purchased some time for ongoing negotiations. On Wednesday, Kerala CPI-M state secretary M. V. Govindan sat down with Musliyar and ensured that negotiations are ongoing.
"Musliyar informed me the execution has been suspended, and more talks are in progress. He said that talks are being conducted with the Yemeni authorities and also the victim's family, who have the authority to give a pardon," Govindan said.
The temporary standstill in execution has given some room to maneuver for the parties interested in a solution, but the main challenge now is to convince the family of the victim to accept clemency. Any such pardon would be conditional on a compromise that would include 'blood money'—a payment of compensation accepted under Sharia law in murder cases.
But with reports of divisions within the family on the matter, religious leaders and intermediaries are trying to bring all sides to an agreement. After the family comes to an agreement, payment of blood money could be a harbinger for Priya's release from death row.
Sources indicate that the next phase of discussions will focus on negotiating the terms of this financial compensation. Kerala-based billionaire M. A. Yusuf Ali has reportedly offered to provide the necessary financial assistance to help facilitate the arrangement.
Priya, who traveled to Yemen in 2008 to assist her family and opened a clinic later after working as a nurse, was found guilty of killing her ex-business partner, Talal Mehdi, in 2017. As stated in reports, she reportedly gave him sedatives to get her passport back from him, which he had allegedly taken. The sedatives turned out to be lethal.
She was arrested when she tried to flee the country and was found guilty of murder in 2018. In 2020, she was sentenced to death—a ruling confirmed by Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023. The court did, however, leave an opening for possible pardon through payment of blood money.
With the date of execution announced, politicians from all sides of Kerala's political divide have appealed to the Indian government and the President to act on humanitarian grounds. With the execution now postponed, efforts are increasing to get a solution that could save Nimisha Priya's life.
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