Abdul Fattah Mahdi, the brother of slain Yemeni businessman Talal Abdo Mahdi, has publicly demanded the immediate execution of Nimisha Priya, the Indian nurse convicted of murdering Talal in 2017. In a social media post, Abdul Fattah shared a formal letter addressed to the Attorney General of Yemen, asserting that his family continues to seek full enforcement of the qisas (retributive justice) verdict without delay. He also refuted claims made by the office of Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar that an agreement had been reached during a meeting reportedly attended by officials from northern Yemen, an international delegation, and a group of scholars deputed by Sheikh Habib Umar bin Hafeel to revoke the death sentence and decide on the further course of action. According to national media, the Ministry of External Affairs has denied reports of a revocation. 

Nimisha Priya, a native of Thekkinchira in Palakkad, Kerala, was sentenced to death in 2020 by a Yemeni court for murdering her business partner Talal Abdo Mahdi and hiding his body in a water tank. The case, which has drawn international attention, is currently under renewed scrutiny following reports of ongoing negotiations to revoke the death sentence.

In his letter dated July 25, Abdul Fattah Mahdi notes that the execution order had already received final ratification from Yemen’s Supreme Political Council through ruling No. 177 dated December 23, 2023. The Specialised Criminal Prosecution had also issued directives for implementation through memos in May and June 2024.

“The ruling has now acquired the force of res judicata (final and binding judgement),” the letter states. “It has become mandatory to implement according to the law, requiring all relevant authorities to carry it out without delay.”

However, the execution, which was scheduled for July 16, was deferred indefinitely after intervention from Indian religious leaders and Yemeni scholars reportedly involved in mediation efforts. Abdul Fattah slammed the delay, saying his family has “categorically rejected all reconciliation efforts and mediation attempts, given that the crime exceeded all bounds.”

He called on authorities to fix a new date for execution, insisting that the right to justice was granted to his family by both divine and earthly law.

Abdul Fattah also criticised Indian media reports suggesting that the victim’s family may have agreed to a pardon. “Talal’s blood will not be a commodity in the negotiation bazaar,” he wrote, adding that some Indian media outlets have been misrepresenting the situation in the name of emotional storytelling and propaganda.

He also directly called out India’s Grand Mufti Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar, who recently stated that progress had been made in securing Nimisha’s release through religious mediation. 

Abdul Fattah, however, denied any such contact with his family. “We do not believe this, that such a statement would be issued from the office of a religious scholar held in such high regard. Someone must have misled them by falsely claiming that we had agreed to a settlement,” he said.

He demanded clarity from Kanthapuram: “Who exactly contacted him? Did those people even speak to us, the blood relatives of the victim? These matters must be made public to prevent such misinformation from spreading again.”

The intervention of religious figures had led to the temporary deferral of the execution. Nimisha Priya is currently imprisoned in a Houthi-controlled region of northern Yemen, where the murder case had inflamed tribal sentiments. Her supporters in India continue to lobby for clemency, while efforts to raise blood money (diya) as part of a potential settlement remain ongoing.