Kerala nurse’s mother permitted to make 'Blood Money' deal to save daughter on death row in Yemen

A Kerala nurse who is on death row in Yemen for murder will now be represented by her mother, who was granted permission by the Delhi High Court to travel to the West Asian country and negotiate her daughter’s release. The court, in a ruling on Tuesday, permitted the mother to travel to Yemen and try and negotiate a “blood money” deal to save her daughter Nimisha Priya. “Blood money” is the compensation amount decided by the victim’s family required to secure her release, a direct negotiation in accordance with the Shariah law prevalent in Yemen. However, for this negotiation, it is important for the nurse’s mother to travel to Yemen. Earlier, the Centre had imposed a travel ban in 2017 due to which Indian citizens cannot visit Yemen without the permission of the government. The Delhi High Court directed the Centre to relax its notification, and allow Prema Kumari, Nimisha’s mother, to travel to Yemen. The high court took note of the Centre’s submission that India does not have diplomatic ties with Yemen and it has closed down its embassy there, and that no international treaty is applicable in that country in the present scenario. The court has asked the mother to submit an affidavit stating that she will travel at her own risk and responsibility without any liability to the Indian government. Nimisha Priya was found guilty of killing a Yemeni national and has been in prison since 2018. She injected Talal Abdo Mahdi with sedatives in an attempt to retrieve her passport from his possession. She was sentenced to death by a trial court in Yemen in 2018 and her family has been fighting for her release since then. With the Yemini Supreme Court rejecting her appeal, the only hope for her is a “blood money” deal between the families.