New Delhi: The issue of an Indian nurse being sentenced to death in Yemen echoed in the Lok Sabha today. In fact, the Supreme Court of Yemen has sentenced the Indian nurse to death for killing a Yemeni citizen and her case is currently with the President of that country. No action has been taken by the President of Yemen on the mercy petition so far. The government gave this information in the Lok Sabha on Friday.
Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said that the Government of India is providing all possible assistance in this case, which includes providing diplomatic access to jailed nurse Nimisha Priya and providing a lawyer to plead her case. In a written reply, he said, “The Supreme Court of Yemen in Sana’a has sentenced Indian nurse Nimisha Priya to death for killing a Yemeni citizen.” The Minister of State for External Affairs said, “The issue of execution of the death sentence is currently with the President of Yemen.” Can blood money save lives? Singh said that the government has received some representations, including from civil society, regarding Nimisha Priya’s case. When asked whether the government has taken any steps to ensure the payment of ‘blood money’ (the amount paid by the killer or his family to the family of the person killed) to ensure the safe release of Nimisha Priya, Singh said that it is a matter between the family of the deceased and the family of the nurse. In fact, if someone is killed abroad, then later the victim’s family often agrees to end the case by taking the amount demanded by the killer as compensation. This is called blood money.
