"Expect Them To Forgive Her": Mother Of Kerala Nurse On Death Row In Yemen

Following the Delhi High Court's approval for Nimisha Priya's mother to travel to Yemen, Prem Kumari, expressed joy and said that she is hoping that the victim's family would forgive her daughter.

"I am grateful and happy about this high court verdict. Thanks to advocates and Yemen," she said.

The Delhi High Court, on Tuesday, granted permission for Nimisha Priya's mother to travel to Yemen at her own risk to negotiate the blood money (diyah) in an attempt to save her daughter from capital punishment.

Nimisha Priya's mother further said that she was shocked when the verdict was passed.

"Yesterday I was shocked when I got to know this verdict. Last week it wasn't allowed. I got permission to travel with Samuel, Brother, who is the one who brought the plight of Nimisha Priya into the media. She has been in jail since 2017," she added.

Prem Kumari has been attempting to visit Yemen to apologize to the family of the victim.

"I am expecting them to forgive my daughter considering her girl child who is 10 years old. We failed in the beginning to prove she is innocent. It doesn't matter now. We are grateful to Samuel Jerome Brother, the Action Council, the Union Government and other well-wishers for their help," she said.

Nimisha Priya's mother stated that she would be meeting with the family, Sheikhs, and concerned individuals to seek the release and forgiveness of her daughter.

"I will be meeting with the family, Sheikhs and concerned people for releasing and forgiving her. For Nimisha Priya's release, I have to go there," she added.

Moreover, she stressed that Nimisha Priya's defence is that she is innocent.

However, "Now she has exhausted all her appeals and there is no chance for scientific investigation," Nimisha Priya's mother added.

She further expressed gratitude to the ministers for their help.

Moreover, on Tuesday, the high court disposed of the petition moved by the mother of Nimisha Priya who has been sentenced to death in Yemen.

Her mother wanted to go to Yemen to negotiate the blood money to avoid the death sentence.

Justice Subramonium disposed of the petition of Prema Kumari after noting the submission of her counsel that she would go there out of her will and at her own risk.

Meanwhile, the high court was told that one Samuel Jerome would be accompanying her to travel to Yemen. He is from Tamil Nadu and has been working in Yemen for many years.

The high court directed the central government to allow the petitioner to travel to Yemen.

Nimisha Priya, who is sentenced to death in Yemen, is a trained nurse and has worked in private hospitals in Yemen for a few years.

Her husband and minor daughter returned to India in 2014 because of financial reasons and in that same year, Yemen was gripped by civil war, and they could not go back as the country stopped issuing new visas.

Later in 2015, Nimisha Priya joined hands with Mahdi to set up her clinic in Yemen's capital city Sana. She sought Mahdi's support because, under Yemen's law, only nationals are allowed to set up clinics and business firms.

The plea also said that in 2015, Mahdi accompanied Nimisha Priya to Kerala when she came for a month-long holiday. During the visit, he stole a wedding photograph of Nimisha Priya, which he later manipulated to claim that he was married to her. Later Mahdi started torturing her.

After she started the clinic, Mahadi started cornering all the revenue. He became hostile when Nimisha Priya questioned him about the embezzlement.

After a while Ms Priya's clinic began, and Mahdi manipulated the ownership documents of the clinic. He also began to take money out of her monthly earnings after telling everyone that Ms Priya was his wife and even morphed their pictures to show they were married, the plea said.

Nimisha Priya had alleged that Mahdi had been harassing her and her family for years, taking money from there and even claiming to her husband, it added. The plea alleged that the harassment then became physical torture.

Soon, her life turned into a hell. Mahdi seized her passport. This was done to ensure that she would not leave Yemen. He tortured her under the influence of drugs. He threatened her at gunpoint several times. He took all the money from the clinic and her ornaments.

It further alleged that Nimisha Priya then complained to the police in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. But instead of taking action against Mahdi, the police arrested her and put her in jail for six days.

It is further alleged that on her return from jail, the severity of the torture increased manifold.

In July 2017, Ms Priya took the help of a warden of a jail located near her clinic, where Mahdi had been jailed previously under various charges.

The warden suggested that she should try to sedate him, and then convince him to give her passport. However, sedation did not affect Mahdi, who was a substance abuser. She tried sedating him again, using a stronger sedative to retrieve her passport but he died within a few minutes due to a drug overdose.

Now, the only way for her to escape from the death penalty is to gain pardon from the family of the victim by paying blood money to the family in accordance with the law of the land (Shariah Law), the plea said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)