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What is blood money and can it save Nimisha Priya from execution in Yemen?
Advocate Subhash Chandran submitted before the Supreme Court that payment of blood money to the victim's family, according to Sharia law, can also be explored.
The clock is ticking for Indian-origin nurse Nimishi Priya, who has been sentenced to death in Yemen for allegedly killing a Yemeni national.
Priya was sentenced to death in 2018 for the alleged murder of her business partner, Talal Abdo Mahdi. Yemen's President Rashad al-Alimi had given the nod for her execution in January this year.
As Priya's family and the Indian government looked for options to save the Kerala native, the Islamic Sharia law presents one option that could get her death sentence cancelled - 'blood money' also known as 'diya'.
What is blood money? Can it save Nimisha Priya?
Under the Islamic Sharia law, blood money or 'diya' means that the accused provides financial compensation to the family of the victim in serious crimes such as murder. The law notes that murder is of two types: by intent, and the other is by mistake.
The Sharia law states that the punishment for murder by intent is death or any other punishment proportionate to the nature of the crime. "But if it is not a willful murder but a murder by mistake, the punishment according to verse (4:92) is ransom money (blood money). But if a remission is made by the heirs of the slain out of their own goodwill, they are allowed to do so. In such a case, it is incumbent on the murderer to abide by what has been settled and pay it in a commendable manner," it reads.
ALSO READ | Who is Nimisha Priya, and how did a Kerala nurse end up on Yemen’s death row?
The option of blood money in this case gains significance as Yemen is a country that follows the Islamic Sharia law.
The system of blood money leaves the fate of the offender in the hands of the victim's family. The Sharia law does not state a fixed amount for 'diya'. However, it can be negotiated by the victim's family.
In the Quran, Islam's central religious text, Surah Al-Baqarah (2:178) says on 'diya': "O believers! The law of retaliation is set for you in cases of murder—a free man for a free man, a slave for a slave, and a female for a female. But if the offender is pardoned by the victim’s guardian, then blood-money should be decided fairly and payment should be made courteously. This is a concession and a mercy from your Lord. But whoever transgresses after that will suffer a painful punishment."
The payment of the blood money or ‘diya’ might prevent the execution of Nimisha Priya.
Nimisha Priya's family
The family of the nurse from Kerala's Palakkad have been struggling to save her, and had earlier also agreed to pay the blood money. They have been trying to negotiate with the victim, Talal Abdo Mahdi's family, to save Nimisha Priya from the death sentence.
Her husband, Tomy Thomas, a daily wage labourer and driver, has reportedly been forced to send their daughter, a Class 7 student, to a hostel due to financial limitations. The family is carrying the weight of a ₹60 lakh debt, which it took in 2015 to help Priya set up a clinic in Yemen, which was shut down in 2017.
Priya's mother, Premakumari, had also travelled to Yemen last year as part of the efforts to secure her release from the Yemeni prison.
The 38-year-old nurse is currently lodged in a jail in Yemen's capital city of Sana'a, a region controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis.
ALSO READ | Indian nurse Nimisha Priya faces execution on July 16: How Yemen civil war impacts her chances
Earlier this week, news agency PTI reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that India is engaged in efforts to halt the execution of Nimish Priya. A government source reportedly told PTI, "We have been closely following the matter since then. We have been in regular touch with local authorities and her family members and rendered all possible assistance. We continue to closely follow the matter."
New Delhi is reportedly undertaking efforts to prevent Priya's execution. However, it is encountering certain complications as the Indian side does not have any formal contacts with the Houthi rebels.
SC to hear plea to save Nimisha Priya
The Supreme Court on Thursday will hear a plea seeking a direction to the central government to engage diplomatic channels to save Nimisha Priya, who is set to be executed in Yemen on July 16.
ALSO READ | Hectic efforts on to prevent execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen on July 16
A top court bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi listed the matter for hearing on July 10 after advocate Subhash Chandran KR said diplomatic channels needed to be explored as soon as possible.
He also submitted before the SC that payment of blood money to Mahdi's family, according to the Sharia law, can also be explored.
"Save Nimisha Priya - International Action Council", an organisation which extends legal support to assist the Indian-origin nurse, has filed the plea in the apex court.
