Delhi HC permits mother of Indian nurse on death row to travel to Yemen at own risk

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (Dec 12) permitted the mother of Nimisha Priya, a Malayali nurse who has been sentenced to death in Yemen, to travel to the war-ravaged nation at her own risk to secure her daughter's release using 'blood money'.

Justice Subramonium Prasad presiding over the case requested the central government to relax its travel advisory under which no Indian is allowed to travel to Yemen.

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Samuel Jerome, an Indian working as the CEO of an airline in the Yemeni capital city of Sana'a is expected to travel with Priya's mother Prema Kumari. He will help her negotiate with the concerned authorities, without any liability to the Indian government.

“The court is inclined to direct the Union of India to relax the notification for the petitioner, on the petitioner filing an affidavit to the effect that she will travel to Yemen with one Samuel for negotiating for the release of her daughter at her own personal risk and responsibility, without the liability of the Union of India or the concerned State Government,” the court ordered.

Sana'a is controlled by the Houthi rebels who have been locked in a civil war with the official government, based in exile in Saudi Arabia. New Delhi does not recognise the Houthis and as a result, the two countries do not have any diplomatic relations.

Last week, during a hearing, the counsel representing the Union government said sending the mother may lead to a dangerous situation where even her safety is compromised.

“Today they want to go there to negotiate blood money. We don’t want to get it converted into a ransom demand situation. There is no Indian presence there. The Embassy there is closed except one or two clerical local persons who are there just to collect letters and send them to where our Embassy is,” the Indian government counsel said.

Watch | Gravitas: India nurse's appeal against death penalty dismissed by Yemen court

Nimisha Priya and her current situation

The 34-year-old nurse from Kerala is facing a death sentence after she was convicted of murdering Talal Abdo Mahidi in July 2017, when she allegedly injected him with sedatives to get hold of her passport from him.

As Yemen follows Sharia law, Priya can secure a pardon from the victim's family by paying 'diyah'or 'blood money'. Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and UAE also have 'diyah' as part of their modern-day legal system.

Nimisha was barely 19 when she left for Yemen to work as a nurse in a government-run hospital. She returned to India in 2011 and married Tomy Thomas with whom she has a daughter.

(With inputs from agencies)