Nimisha Priya Case: How Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad intervened to defer Kerala nurse's execution in Yemen

Mint

16-07-2025

Nimisha Priya Case: The execution of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who has been on death row in Yemen since 2020, was deferred on July 15, a day before the scheduled date.
This confirmation came a day after Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar, the general secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama and chancellor of Jamia Markaz, initiated a new mediation effort through his long-time friend and Yemeni Sufi Islamic scholar Sheikh Habib Umar bin Hafiz.
The 94-year-old Musliyar, who is officially known as Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad and is revered as 'Grand Mufti of India,' held talks with religious authorities in Yemen, who were in contact with the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, the Yemeni national she allegedly killed in 2017.
On Tuesday, Abubakr announced, a press statement, that the scheduled execution has been officially postponed following his humanitarian intervention.
The statement detailed the series of diplomatic and religious efforts undertaken to halt the execution. The initiative began after he was approached last Friday by Chandy Oommen, the Congress MLA from seeking assistance in the Nimisha Priya execution case due to the cleric's longstanding ties with leading Sufi scholars in Yemen.
"With a deep sense of national responsibility and humanitarian concern, I decided to act upon this request," the 'Grand Mufti' said in the statement.
Given the limited diplomatic ties between India and Yemen, he chose to activate alternate channels of influence through spiritual and tribal leaders.
One of the pivotal figures in the mediation process was Habib Umar bin Hafeez, a renowned Sufi scholar from Tarim, Yemen. Upon being contacted, Habib Umar promptly began mobilising his network and initiated high-level discussions with the deceased's family, legal experts, and Yemeni judicial authorities, according to the statement.
'An emergency meeting was recently convened in North Yemen under Habib Umar's guidance, bringing together key figures including senior government officials, the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court in Sanaa, the victim's family representatives, and tribal leaders. During these discussions, the victim's family signaled openness to further dialogue before finalizing their decision,' it read.
Abubakr is based in Kerala, the home state of 37-year-old Nimisha Priya. He is a revered figure among Sunni Muslims in India and across South Asia. He is widely known as the 'Grand Mufti of India', though the title is not official.
Further negotiations took place this morning in Dhamar, the home region of the deceased, involving tribal leaders and the victim's legal committee, the statement said. 'Notably, Justice Mohammed bin Ameen—a senior judge, Shura Council member, and relative of the deceased—joined the mediation at the request of Habib Umar and played a crucial role in persuading the family to formally request a stay of execution,' it said.
The Yemeni Special Criminal Court issued an official order, signed by Judge Rizwan Ahmed Al-Wajri and Prosecutor Swari Mudeen Mufaddal, postponing the execution originally scheduled for July 16, 2025 until further notice.
"This case has been deeply sensitive and emotionally complex within the tribal society of North Yemen," noted Sheikh Abubakr.
'Until recently, even establishing communication with the victim's family was impossible. The breakthrough in dialogue now offers renewed hope for a peaceful resolution.'
Abubakr confirmed that all recent developments have been formally communicated to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.
The statement said this intervention marks a critical step toward clemency in a case that has drawn national and international attention and underscores the impact of religious diplomacy and cross-border humanitarian solidarity.
According to sources quoted by news agencies, blood money negotiations have taken place, and the details were conveyed to the concerned parties in Kerala.
"Islam has another law. If the murderer is sentenced to death, the family of the victim has the right to pardon. I don't know who this family is, but from a long distance, I contacted the responsible scholars in Yemen,' he told news agency ANI.
'I made them understand the issues. Islam is a religion that places a lot of importance on humanity.'
Under Shariah law, as applied in Yemen, blood money is a legally recognised financial compensation paid to the family of a person who has been killed. It is a legally sanctioned alternative to capital punishment in Islamic jurisprudence.
'After I requested that they intervene and take action, the scholars (in Yemen) met, discussed, and stated that they would do what they could. They have officially informed us and sent a document stating that the date of execution has been postponed, which will help facilitate the ongoing discussions," he said.
Nimisha Priya, hailing from Palakkad district in Kerala, was sentenced to death in 2020, and her final appeal was rejected in 2023. She is currently imprisoned in a jail in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.
Centre informed the Supreme Court that the government could do "nothing much" in the case of the nurse facing execution on July 16.
Islam is a religion that places a lot of importance on humanity.
Attorney General R Venkataramani informed a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that the government was doing "utmost possible".