Justice Kurian Joseph To Lead Mediation For Release Of Indian Woman Sentenced To Death In Yemen

In a significant development in the case of Nimisha Priya, an Indian woman who is facing death sentence in Yemen for the murder of a Yemeni citizen, former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph has agreed to lead a mediation attempt for her release.

As per Yemeni law, a convict in a murder case can be released if the family members of the victim pardon the crime.

Speaking to LiveLaw, Justice Kurian Joseph said that he was approached by Advocate Subhash Chandran, who represents the NGO "Save Nimisha Priya Council", to lead the negotiation talks to secure her pardon. "I agreed. I only thought if this could save somebody's life, well and good..", Justice Joseph told LiveLaw. He clarified that it is a purely voluntary undertaking, without the involvement of the Government.

Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, was convicted for the murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017 by injecting sedatives into the body. Reportedly, the motive of the crime was that she wanted to procure her passport which was under the possession of Mahdi.

Recently, a writ petition was filed in the Delhi High Court by "Save Nimisha Priya Council" seeking the intervention of the Union Government for her release. The Centre told the Court that it will take proactive steps to pursue the appeal against her conviction. However, the Centre added that it cannot participate in the negotiations with the victim's family. But, the Centre undertook to provide all necessary consular support and to facilitate the travel of the negotiators. The Court disposed of the petition observing that it cannot issue a direction to the Centre to enter into negotiations with the victim's family to accept the bloodmoney.