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In a dramatic turn of events involving death row convict Nimisha Priya, the family of the slain Yemeni citizen has denied any involvement in the negotiation talks with any of the interlocutors from India. Abdul Fattah Mahdi, brother of victim Talal Abdo Mahdi, reiterated on social media that they ‘adhere to the right to retribution’. The clarification came after various groups claimed to have contacted the family for negotiations to save Nimisha from the death sentence in the murder case.
With a hashtag stating that they were pursuing the case for nine years, Fattah Mahdi wrote that they came to know about the postponement of Nimisha’s execution through the media. Denying claims of Indian media and certain individuals, Fattah Mahdi said that they haven’t met any individuals, representatives or intermediaries.
He denied receiving even a phone call from anyone in this regard.
“What we hear in the media, especially the Indian media—that the execution has been halted after our meeting with Indian and Yemeni preachers, and that based on that, they have stepped forward and requested a stay of execution, and that they are in contact with Talal’s family and asking us for forgiveness and pardon, and that they arrived at the last moment and are creating a 'victory out of nothing' at the expense of our case... we affirm that we only know about them through the media. We have not met them, nor anyone representing them, nor any intermediaries on their behalf, nor even received a phone call from them. We completely reject this, as we insist on our right to implement God's law,” says the rough translation of his social media post in Arabic.
Fattah Mahdi added that the family of the victim had the ‘right over blood’. He added, “..delaying the execution will only increase our determination and adherence to our right to retribution."
Members of the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council had claimed that a breakthrough in the case came after the intervention of the general secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar, who contacted religious leaders in Yemen. In a press meet held on July 15, Kanthapuram said that the execution was postponed for talks with the victim’s family.
Later, the council members said that the postponement happened after initiating communications with Talal’s family. Another group – consisting of expat and activist Samuel Jerome and Nimisha’s mother, Premakumari – is staying in Yemen to coordinate activities for the release. Both groups have claimed credit for the postponement of the execution, which was scheduled on July 16. However, the death sentence has not been stayed so far.
Fattah Mahdi also wrote that the Indian media was trying to portray Nimisha as a victim. “The Indian media, especially the media in Kerala, spreads rumours and defends the convicted Nimisha Priya as if she were a victim rather than a perpetrator, ignoring the horrific and brutal nature of the crime she committed and for which she was sentenced to death,” he wrote in both Arabic and Malayalam. He added that such reports only strengthen the family's resolve to carry out the sentence.
Palakkad native Nimisha Priya is convicted of murdering Talal, her business partner, by drugging him. According to those close to Nimisha, she had planned to drug him to secure her passport, allegedly withheld by Talal. However, Talal died allegedly due to a drug overdose. Nimisha was arrested in Yemen during an attempt to flee, days after a mutilated body of Talal was found in a water tank.
Meanwhile, several handles from India, especially Kerala, have started commenting on the Facebook profile of Fattah Mahdi and various Yemeni social media groups, for and against the release of Nimisha.
Case in Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on July 18 asked the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council to approach the Union government for permission to travel to Yemen for negotiations. The council had approached the SC seeking permission to allow some of its members and a representative of Kanthapuram to go to Yemen to discuss the possibility of giving 'blood money'—a compensation to the victims.
"The first step is that the family forgive us, and the second stage is blood money. Somebody needs to negotiate with the family. Yemen is not a country where anybody can just go. There is a travel ban unless the government relaxes it. Let 2-3 members of the petitioner and a representative of the Kerala Islamic cleric be permitted to go to Yemen. As of now, execution has been stayed. We are thankful to Government of India for all efforts. But we need to go there, there was a revered [Islamic cleric] who intervened..." the council informed the court, as per a report of Live Law. Attorney General for India R Venkataramani, however, remained non-committal about government intervention, the report said.