With the execution date of Nimisha Priya in Yemen getting postponed for a day last-minute to efforts to save the Indian nurse, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday appreciated influential Sunni Muslim leader Kanthapuram AP Abubakar Musliyar for his intervention in the case by communicating through his longtime friend - Yemeni scholar and Sufi leader Sheikh Habib Umar bin Hafiz. Tharoor said the latest development has given new hope to save Nimisha Priya who was sentenced to death by Yemen for allegedly killing a man who repeatedly harassed and abused her.
Musliyar is the General Secretary of All India Sunni Jamiiyyatul Ulama and the chancellor of Jamia Markaz.
Sunni leader steps in to save Nimisha, who he is?
A meeting took place earlier in the day in Dhamar between representatives of Sheikh Habib Umar bin Hafiz and the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, the Yemeni national allegedly killed by Indian nurse Nimisha Priya in 2017, according to a PTI report.
This development comes after 94-year-old Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, widely known as Kanthapuram Musliyar and recognised as the Grand Mufti of India, held discussions with religious leaders in Yemen. The meeting with Talal's family was scheduled for 10 am local Yemeni time.
Kanthapuram’s office confirmed that a close relative of the deceased Talal, who serves as the Chief Justice of the Hodeidah State Court and is a member of the Yemeni Shura Council, has arrived in Dhamar, Talal’s hometown, to participate in the talks, following the guidance of Sheikh Umar.
Tharoor praises Kerala Muslim cleric
"Kerala is praying unitedly for his efforts to be successful. Honourable Kanthapuram Ustad has shown us that humanity is the most important in today's era where there are attempts to divide humans and cultivate hatred and hatred in the name of religion and community," Tharor wrote in a post on Facebook.
The MP from Thiruvanananthapuram explained that various interventions have happened since 2020 when Nimisha was sentenced to death by court in Yemen but they could not yield desired result due to the political and security situation due to the civil war in Yemen.
She is currently being held in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen controlled by the Houthi rebels. India does not have formal diplomatic relations with the Houthi administration, which further complicates efforts to secure her release.
He said India has an embassy in Yemen but due to the current situation in Yemen, the Indian Embassy in Sana has been temporarily operating from a camp office in Djibouti since April 2015. "This is why our diplomatic interventions have not been successful so far," he said.
Nimisha Priya case
Nimisha Priya moved to Yemen in 2008 to work as a nurse, seeking better job opportunities to support her family in Kerala. She began her career in local hospitals and eventually established her own clinic. In order to comply with Yemeni laws, she partnered with a local businessman, 37-year-old Talal Abdo Mahdi.
However, the partnership soon turned abusive. Mahdi reportedly began harassing her, took control of her finances, and seized her passport, effectively preventing her from leaving the country. In a desperate attempt to escape the situation, Priya administered a sedative to Mahdi in 2017, intending to retrieve her passport while he was unconscious. Tragically, Mahdi died, and Priya was arrested as she attempted to flee Yemen.
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