Nimisha Priya death sentence case: 'We insist on implementing God's law' - what Yemen family said about Kerala nurse

NEW DELHI: The family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, the man allegedly murdered by Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, has firmly demanded justice, insisting on "implementing God's Law in Qisas [retaliation in kind]."

With Yemen postponing the execution of the nurse in the murder case, hope now solely rests on the deceased’s family agreeing to settle through indemnity.

In an interview with the BBC Arabic on Monday, before the postponement of Priya's execution, Mahdi's brother Abdelfattah said, "Our stance on the attempts at reconciliation is clear; we insist on implementing God's Law in Qisas [retaliation in kind], nothing else."

"Any dispute, whatever its reasons and however big, can never justify a murder - let alone dismembering, mutilating and hiding the body," he added.

The Centre informed the Supreme Court that paying "blood money" was the only remaining option to save Priya from execution in Yemen. This payment is allowed under Sharia law, which guides many Islamic legal systems.

Priya moved from Kerala to Yemen in 2008 to pursue a nursing career. Nearly a decade later, in 2017, she was arrested after the body of her business partner Talal Mahdi was found.

In 2020, a Yemeni court sentenced her to death, a verdict upheld by the country's Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023. She remains imprisoned in Sana'a, the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen.