Chandy Oommen played a key role in halting nurse's execution in Yemen

THE execution of Nimisha Priya, the Kerala nurse on death row in Yemen since 2020, was deferred on July 15, a day before the scheduled date.

Prominent Muslim cleric Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar, originally named Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, is being hailed for initiating the mediation efforts through his long-time friend and Yemeni Sufi Islamic scholar Sheikh Habib Umar bin Hafiz.

But who prompted Abubakar to intervene? 

Abubakr's office issued a formal statement on July 15 saying that the initiative began after the cleric was approached last Friday by Chandy Oommen, the Congress MLA from Puthuppally. Chandy sought the Grand Mufti's assistance due to his longstanding ties with leading Sufi scholars in Yemen, the statement said.

"With a deep sense of national responsibility and humanitarian concern, I decided to act upon this request," the Grand Mufti said.

Chandy approached the Governor, too

Chandy had also approached several other influential figures, including Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, for intervention.

"Beyond his role as a Governor, he acted as a fellow human being. His sincere efforts will never be forgotten by Kerala and its people. I thank him from the bottom of my heart," Chandy said after the execution was halted, adding that the Governor reached out to foreign governments, businessmen, and officials.

"He did whatever he could," the Congress MLA told PTI after the execution was deferred.

Chandy, son of the late Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, met Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Wednesday to seek urgent intervention in the case. He was accompanied by his mother, Mariyamma Oommen, during the meeting at Raj Bhavan. The family has taken up the issue as a matter of moral responsibility, recalling that the late Oommen Chandy had personally advocated for Nimisha Priya’s release in his final days. 

"Appa (father) gave this issue priority even amid his own health struggles. He spoke to everyone who visited him about intervening in Nimisha's case," he had said after the meeting. The veteran Congress leader, Oommen Chandy, died in July 2023 at the age of 79.

“We believe this is one of the responsibilities he entrusted to us. Now, with the date of execution approaching, we cannot remain silent,” Chandy said in a Facebook post later

Nimisha Priya, 38, a nurse from Palakkad district in Kerala, was convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner in 2017. She was sentenced to death in 2020, and her final appeal was rejected in 2023. She is currently imprisoned in a jail in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen.

Who is Chandy Oommen?

Chandy Oommen, 39, is an Indian lawyer, lecturer, and Congress MLA who practises law at the Supreme Court of India since 2016. He is the incumbent Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly representing the Puthuppally Assembly constituency since 2023.

Chandy was the Chairman of the National Outreach Cell of the Indian Youth Congress. On September 9, 2024, the Government of India appointed Oommen as the Empanelled Advocate to represent the National Highways Authority of India in Courts in Kerala.

Family and Education

Chandy Oommen was born on March 1, 1986, in Puthuppally, Kottayam district of Kerala, India as the only son of former chief minister Oommen Chandy and Mariamma Oommen.

Chandy completed his schooling at St Thomas Residential School, Thiruvananthapuram, and Loyola School, Thiruvananthapuram. He then went to Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram, for a bachelor's degree in economics. He then pursued his bachelor's (BA Hons) and master's (MA) degrees in history at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, where he was the president of the college students' union from 2006 to 2007.

After completing his post-graduation, he went on to earn an LLB from Delhi University and an LLM in criminology from the National Law University, Delhi. Additionally, he completed a summer course at the London School of Economics. Subsequently, he obtained an additional LLM in constitutional law from Christ University, Bengaluru, in 2016.

Retained father's seat

With a deep sense of national responsibility and humanitarian concern, I decided to act upon this request.

Chandy’s father, Oommen Chandy, represented the Puthuppally Assembly constituency consecutively for 53 years. Puthuppally by-election was necessitated by the death of his father in July 2023.

Chandy was selected as the candidate of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). Chandy won the by-poll with a record margin of 37,719 votes against Jaick C Thomas of the Left Democratic Front (LDF). It was the highest margin for any candidate in the history of the Puthuppally assembly election.