Death sentence of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya temporarily postponed
Strong opposition from Talal’s family
Sana (Yemen): The death sentence of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, currently imprisoned in Yemen, has been temporarily postponed. However, the family of the murdered Yemeni national Talal Abdul Mahdi has strongly opposed this decision.
In a Facebook post, Talal’s brother Abdul Fattah Mahdi reacted, saying, “The truth cannot be forgotten. Even if the punishment is delayed, it cannot be avoided.”
He has categorically rejected any talk of forgiveness or a reconciliation process.
Nimisha Priya, a native of Kollengode in Palakkad district, went to Yemen in 2012 along with her husband and son. She continued her profession as a nurse, and her husband Tomy secured a job with a private company.
During this period, she met Talal Abdul Mahdi, a Yemeni citizen. With his help, she decided to start a medical clinic under a business partnership. It was nearly impossible to start such a clinic in Yemen without local support.
Once the clinic was launched, Talal allegedly began claiming publicly that Nimisha was his wife. It is said he even fabricated a fake marriage certificate and later threatened her, claiming they were married under local religious customs.
He allegedly took full control of the clinic's income, seized her passport, and sold her gold, leaving Nimisha with nothing. Initially tolerating the abuse, she later reported him to the authorities. The investigation later revealed that in the process of attempting to retrieve her passport, Talal died due to an overdose administered by Nimisha.
The execution, scheduled for July 16, was postponed after intervention by Kantapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar, a prominent Muslim scholar, and Sheikh Habib Umar bin Habib, a well-known Sufi scholar from Yemen. The ‘Save Nimisha Priya Action Committee’ also contributed to the postponement.
However, Talal’s family is firm on rejecting any delay or reconciliation. “No amount of compensation can buy a lost life. Justice must be served,” Talal’s brother said in a stern statement.
Abdul Fattah further remarked: “There have been covert efforts and backdoor negotiations going on for years. These are not new. We are not surprised. But our position is unchanged. This is a matter of retribution, not forgiveness.”
He described the postponement of the death sentence as “unfortunate”, stating they did not expect it. He emphasised that once a death sentence is scheduled, halting it is extremely difficult. He also dismissed any diplomatic pressure or settlement talks, asserting their refusal to accept such outcomes.
“We will not yield to pressure. A lost life cannot be bought with blood money. Justice cannot be forgotten. Even if delayed, the sentence must be carried out. With God's help, it will happen,” Abdul Fattah wrote in his Facebook post.
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Unruly scenes witnessed in Punjab Assembly
Chandigarh (PTI): The Punjab Assembly on Friday witnessed high drama on Friday after Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira made an allegedly objectionable remark against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during an intense argument over the alleged use of mobile phone in the house by the legislator.
During the one-day special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here, Mann accused Khaira of using a mobile phone when Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan was reading out an official resolution on the revision of wages.
After rising from his seat, the chief minister pointed to the speaker, claiming that Khaira is busy on his mobile phone and urged him to ask the Congress MLA what Sandhwan had said about the resolution.
The speaker then asked Khaira to maintain order in the house and listen to the resolution carefully.
Mann then asked Khaira, "Why don't you go out and then use it (mobile phone)," which led to a strong verbal altercation during which the opposition MLA hurled an accusation against the chief minister. Meanwhile, the speaker appealed for order and insisted that the chair be addressed.
However, both Mann and Khaira continued arguing and could be seen pointing fingers at each other as the proceedings of the house were disrupted.
The AAP MLAs also rose from their seats with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema condemning Khaira for his conduct and demanded action against him.
Cheema further alleged that Khaira "always tries to disturb the house" as he spoke about his conduct in the assembly.
The incident occurred as an official resolution on the revision of wages was presented at the special session by Labour Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond who said it paid homage to labourers on the International Workers' Day.
"Workers are the axis of construction of the nation, the community, the state and society. Every construction project succeeds only through their blood and sweat," the resolution read.
As per the resolution, "The base rate of minimum wages for the working class in Punjab was last revised in the year 2012. Although the dearness allowance has continued to increase since 2012, there has been no increase in the base rate of minimum wages.
On this sacred occasion of May Day, in this special session of the legislative assembly, this house proposes to revise and increase the minimum wages of labourers and strongly recommends to the government to take a decision regarding the increase of minimum wages for workers, so that the contributions of the workers can be acknowledged." PRK
