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Indonesia | 14 years on death row: Timeline of Mary Jane Veloso’s ordeal and fight for justice

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MANILA, Philippines — The case of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking, has spanned over a decade and remains one of the most high-profile legal battles involving an overseas Filipino worker. Veloso was arrested on April 25, 2010, at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, after she was found in possession of more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin. She was sentenced to death in October – just six months after her arrest. Indonesia’s Supreme Court upheld the penalty in May 2011.

'Blood money' only way to save Kerala nurse from death sentence in Yemen: Lawyer

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Priya's appeal to the Supreme Court of Yemen for remission of her sentence has been rejected. Lawyer Subhash Chandran said that under the Sharia law prevalent in Yemen, direct talks with the victim's family are now the only way to move forward towards remission of sentence. But it is not as easy as it seems.

The Kerala nurse, who has been given death sentence in Yemen, can be saved only by paying ‘’Blood Money’’ says a lawyer. The lawyer says the only way to save the nurse from the death penalty is to negotiate "blood money" with the victim's family. 

The nurse's mother has requested the Delhi court to be allowed to go to Yemen. Nurse Nimisha Priya has been sentenced to death after being found guilty of murdering a Yemeni citizen.

Priya's appeal to the Supreme Court of Yemen for remission of her sentence has been rejected. Lawyer Subhash Chandran said that under the Sharia law prevalent in Yemen, direct talks with the victim's family are now the only way to move forward towards remission of sentence. But it is not as easy as it seems. 

Lawyer Subhash Chandran said, "There is a ban on travel to Yemen since 2016, due to which Indian citizens cannot go to Yemen without the permission of the Government of India. Therefore, we are not able to reach the victim's family for 'blood money' talks." Let us tell you that a platform demanding justice for Nimisha includes politicians, businessmen, activists and migrants.

"Blood money" is the compensation that is decided by the victim's family to secure his release. However, negotiations regarding blood money take place between the family of the victim and the culprit. If both agree on an amount, then the way is cleared for the release of the culprit. But for this conversation it is necessary for the nurse's mother to go to Yemen and the Delhi High Court has urged the Center to take a decision on her mother's request within a week.

Priya was convicted of murdering Talal Abdo Mahdi by injecting him with a narcotic in an attempt to get her passport back from his possession. She is lodged in a Yemeni jail after the murder in 2017. 

"Internal conflict broke out in Yemen in 2017 and her husband and children returned to India. She was alone when her sponsors started abusing her and torturing her physically and financially," said lawyer 

They had confiscated Priya's passport and she was unable to escape from there. To get her passport back, Priya tried to render him unconscious, but he died due to drug overdose. At that time in Yemen there was an internal conflict going on, so Priya did not get proper legal defense. Priya was tried in the city of Sanaa, which is under the control of Houthi rebels. In fact, Priya is a victim of war."

Source: NewsTrack, Staff, November 18, 2023

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Location: Yemen
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