(Image source from: News9live.com)
Samuel Jerome Baskaran, an advisor for airlines and a social worker who is leading talks in Yemen to help free Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, said that the call to postpone her execution did not involve the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, the man she was convicted of killing. Baskaran told The Indian Express that the Yemeni government made the choice to delay the execution after Abdul Malik Al Nehaya, the governor of the Al Wasab area, spoke with the President of Yemen on Friday, explaining how the delay happened. President Rashad al-Alimi then agreed to put off the execution the next day. “The Indian government also helped in this effort. The Yemeni officials asked that we not share the details,” he said. In December 2024, the Yemeni President gave his approval for Priya to be put to death. Baskaran also said that the prosecutor got the President’s order on Monday.
Later, on July 14, the public prosecutor in Yemen told the head of the main prison that, as the attorney general said, Priya’s execution is being stopped for now. People who knew about the situation said that the announcement about delaying the execution was put off to avoid any possible trouble. “Talal’s family still has not forgiven the woman. Many people were traveling to the jail to watch the execution on Wednesday. So, telling everyone about the delay too early would have made things messy,” sources said. “The last thing we need (to stop the execution) is for Talal’s family to agree. Their forgiveness is key to Nimisha staying alive. We need to convince the family to forgive her,” he mentioned.
Samuel, who also helped get Indians out of Yemen in 2015, said that he cannot share more details about the talks right now. He was in India when they set the execution date for July 16 last week. He quickly went back to Yemen to keep working on the discussions. According to government sources in India, the Centre has “worked very hard recently to give the family more time to find a solution that both sides can agree on with the other side.” Priya’s family and those who support her want to reach a “blood money” agreement with the victim’s family so she can be pardoned under Sharia law. Also, sources said that Indian officials have been talking regularly with the local prison officials and the prosecutor's office in Yemen.
