Yemen President Rashad al-Alimi on Monday approved the death sentence for Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, who was convicted of murder in Yemen. The execution of the sentence will take place in a month's time, reported Manorama News.

Nimisha Priya’s release depended on securing forgiveness from the family of the victim,Talal Abdo Mehdi, and their tribal leaders. Her mother, Prema Kumari, had been living in Sana’a, Yemen’s capital, working to secure a waiver of the death penalty and negotiate the blood money with the the victim’s family. She resides at the home of Samuel Jerome, an NRI social worker coordinating the activities of the Save Nimisha Priya Action Council.

Negotiations with the victim's family had come to an abrupt halt in September after Abdullah Ameer, the lawyer appointed by the Indian Embassy, demanded a pre-negotiation fee of $20,000 (approximately Rs16.6 lakh). Ameer had stated that discussions will resume only after this payment is made .

On July 4, a cheque for $19,871 was provided to the lawyer through India’s Ministry of External Affairs. However, Ameer insisted on a total payment of $40,000, payable in two instalments, negotiations could proceed.

The Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council raised the first instalment through crowdfunding but later struggled to justify to donors how the collected funds were spent. Nimisha Priya, a native of Palakkad, was sentenced to death in 2017 for the murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mehdi. She was arrested while attempting to flee Yemen and was convicted in 2018.