Editor,
The execution of Nimisha Priya, a Keralite nurse who has been on the death row in Yemen since 2020, was postponed a day before the scheduled date (July 16) owing to the efforts of Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar, the general-secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama and the chancellor of Jamia Markaz, and the Yemeni Sufi Islamic scholar, Sheikh Habib Umar bin Hafiz.
Nimisha was convicted of murdering a Yemeni national, Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017. He was her partner in setting up a clinic but soon allegedly began embezzling money and torturing her. He also seized her passport and other documents not allowing her to return to India which is her hometown. Nimisha tried to sedate him in order to retrieve her documents, but he died of an overdose in the process.
Indian citizens lured by overseas employment opportunities often face dire legal and humanitarian risks. While efforts continue to try to save Nimisha Priya, this episode demands urgent scrutiny of recruitment agencies and their unchecked operations. Only God can save Nimisha Priya from being executed in Yemen.
Jubel D’Cruz,
Mumbai
Via e-mail
