Nimisha Priya’s execution has been postponed by Yemen

The execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya that was scheduled to be carried out on Wednesday (July 16, 2025) in Yemen has been postponed, official sources said on Tuesday (July 15, 2025).

Nimisha Priya has been on the death row in Yemen since 2018 for a 2017 murder of her then business partner. It is understood that negotiation is currently underway to settle the matter with the family of the victim though details of the negotiation is yet to be known.

An official source dealing with the matter said the Government of India is providing “all possible assistance” to the nurse who hails from Kerala and had been working in Yemen since 2008. The government The Hindu was told is trying to reach a “mutually agreeable solution” with all parties involved in the case.

“Despite the sensitivities involved, Indian officials have been in regular touch with the local jail authorities and the prosecutor’s office, leading to securing this postponement,” said the official. Earlier reports had suggested that Nimisha Priya’s execution was scheduled to take place on Wednesday (July 16, 2025), though a relevant official announcement was not made available.

The Indian nurse had been working in Yemeni capital Sanaa since 2008 and in 2014 she had started a clinic in partnership with a local businessman Talal Abdo Mahdi. However ties between the two worsened over business disagreements. Mahdi stole her passport and allegedly stole money from her and abused her. In 2017, Nimisha Priya injected Mahdi with an opioid substance which led to his accidental death. Subsequently, to get rid of the evidence of the crime the nurse dismembered the dead body and with the help of a local person dumped the body parts in a water container.

The case acquired its uniqueness because of the internal breakdown, Yemeni capital Sanaa is controlled by Ansar Ullah (Houthi) while the Internationally Recognised Government of Yemen operates out of Aden. In February, Iran’s Foreign Minister Syed Abbas Araghchi had appealed for pardoning Nimisha. The Hindu had reported that Mr Araghchi had met with the Special Envoy of Ansar Ullah Mohammed Abdul Salam where the case had featured.

Earlier the Yemen embassy in India had announced that the Government of Yemen had not sentenced Nimisha Priya to death.