Palakkad: Abdelfattah Mehdi, brother of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mehdi who was allegedly murdered by Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya in 2017, has declared that there can be no forgiveness for the crime and that Priya must be executed.
Abdelfattah expressed strong disapproval over how Indian media has, in his view, portrayed the convicted woman as a victim.
Priya was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, but the sentence has been temporarily suspended following extensive negotiations involving multiple parties, including the Indian government, diplomatic channels in Saudi Arabia, and religious figures.
One of the key interventions came from Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar, who reportedly contacted a member of Yemen’s Shoora Council in a bid to mediate. State CPI-M secretary M. V. Govindan also met Musliyar on Wednesday and confirmed that talks are ongoing.
"Musliyar has told me that the execution has been kept in abeyance, and there are more aspects which are being discussed. He said people are engaged in talks with authorities in Yemen and also the family who has to give the pardon," said Govindan.
The stay on execution has brought temporary relief, but negotiations are now focused on persuading the victim's family to consider clemency. Religious leaders and officials are attempting to bridge the differences within the family, which remains divided on the matter.
The next phase of discussions will revolve around the payment of blood money, a form of monetary compensation offered to the victim’s family under Sharia law in exchange for forgiveness. Kerala businessman M.A. Yusuf Ali has reportedly offered to provide the required financial assistance.
Priya has been on death row in Yemen since her conviction for the murder of Mehdi, her former business partner. She had moved to Yemen in 2008 to work as a nurse and later opened a clinic.
In 2017, amid a dispute over her passport, Priya allegedly administered sedatives to Mehdi to retrieve it. The drugs proved fatal. She was arrested while attempting to flee the country and was convicted in 2018. The death sentence was issued in 2020 and upheld by Yemen’s Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023, though it left room for clemency through a blood money arrangement.
Her impending execution has triggered widespread appeals from political leaders in Kerala, urging the Union government and the President to intervene urgently.