Yemen defers execution of Indian nurse on death row

Yemeni authorities postponed the execution of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who was scheduled to be hanged on July 16 in Yemen for the murder of a Yemeni national in 2017, according to documents seen by HT, a prominent cleric, and her family.

- Rezaul H Laskar and Vishnu Varma

The Yemeni administration issued an order dated July 14 in Arabic and said that Priya’s execution was deferred until a new date is announced. The Grand Mufti of India, Kerala Sunni cleric Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musaliyar, confirmed the order and said he spoke to prominent Yemeni scholars on behalf of the family.

"The execution has been postponed. We are happy and relieved. It's a foundation on which we can build and make efforts to pave the way for my wife's freedom," Priya’s husband Tony Thomas said.

The 38-year-old woman is in a jail in Sana’a, which is under the control of Houthi rebels.

“It has been learnt that the local authorities in Yemen have postponed the execution,” a person aware of the details said on condition of anonymity.

India doesn’t have a diplomatic presence in Yemen and the matter is being handled by diplomats in the mission in Saudi Arabia.

“We inform you, based on the direction of the attorney general, of the postponement of the execution of the retaliation sentence against the convict... which was scheduled for Wednesday," said the Yemeni order, stamped by Radwan Ahmeda Al-Mujarah, the implementation officer. "The date of execution of the death sentence against the convict...is postponed until you are notified." The developments came a day after the Union government expressed its inability to intervene immediately to stop the impending execution.