FACT CHECK: Is Nimisha Priya's death sentence 'cancelled'?

A video released on Tuesday, in which evangelist and Global Peace Initiative founder Dr K.A. Paul claims that Nimisha Priya's sentence had been cancelled, is doing the rounds on social media.

Expressing his gratitude to the Yemeni leadership for their "powerful and prayerful efforts", he explained that the death sentence imposed five years ago had finally been cancelled after days and nights of extensive efforts by both Yemeni and Indian leaders. 

"I want to thank all all the leaders that is involved to make this a great success. Nimisha Priya's death has been cancelled. By God's grace, she will be released and taken to India. I want to thank Prime Minister Modi ji for preparing to send your diplomats ... and take Nimisha professionally, safely," Dr Paul says in the video.

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However, it must be noted that in the video, he does not, at any point, present official Yemeni legal documents showing the cancellation of the death sentence.

There has also been no official notification from the MInistry of External Affairs (MEA) regarding the acquittal of Nimisha Priya, or even the cancellation of her death sentence.

In their last press conference dated July 17, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal explained that the Government of India was closely tracking the extremely sensitive case of the Kerala-origin nurse trapped in Yemen, providing all possible assistance at every juncture of the trial.

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"We have provided legal assistance, and also appointed a lawyer to assist the family. We have also arranged for regular consular visits by her family, and we are also in touch with local authorities as also the family members to resolve this issue," he stated at the July 17 press conference.

He also references the postponement of her execution, which was originally scheduled for July 16, 2025.

However, Jaiswal offered no information on the possible involvement of the Grand Mufti of India Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad (also known as Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar) in the postponement.

This comes after reports claimed that Kanthapuram held talks with religious authorities in Yemen, and also met with the family of the murdered Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi on July 15. 

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These claims were contested by Samuel Jerome, an Indian social worker in Yemen who had long served as the sole “link” for the Nimisha Priya International Action Council to fight her case.

Jerome credited postponement to the help of Sheikh Abdul Nahya, whom he described as a community leader from the tribe to which the Mahdi family belonged. Jerome has also claimed earlier that he had presented several offers to the victim’s family—including $1 million as 'blood money' and assistance for Talal Abdo Mahdi’s brother to relocate to the UAE or Saudi Arabia.

However, Abdel Fattah Mahdi—Talal's brother—alleged that Jerome collected large sums of money in the name of “negotiations”, but had neither met the family nor contacted them via phone calls or messages. He further claimed that the only time he met Jerome was after the President of the Houthi-controlled Supreme Political Council approved the execution order. 

The embattled nurse was arrested by Yemeni authorities in 2017 for the alleged murder of Talal Abdo Mahdi, after the drug that she reportedly used to sedate him led to his death. She received the death sentence in 2020. Despite challenging this verdict in the country's highest court—and then appealing to the President Rashad al-Alimi—her appeals were rejected.