Latest news with #Sharia
The Herald Scotland
9 hours ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Sandie Peggie tribunal hears racist jokes were dark humour
She was placed on special leave after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying, harassment and patient safety concerns. Ms Peggie was recalled as a witness by her legal team following an explosive evidence session on Monday, which heard the nurse was accused of racism and homophobic by colleagues and former friends. In evidence, Ms Peggie told the tribunal jokes she shared about the 2022 floods in Pakistan, which killed 1,739 people, were sent in "dark humour" and were intended to shock the small group of friends in a Benidorm group chat. The tribunal heard she shared 10 jokes relating to the flooding disaster, including describing the aftermath as looking like a "giant bowl of coco pops". Another joke shared said there was "too many P***'s" in Britain" and said they could be returned to Pakistan. Ms Peggie admitted these jokes were "offensive". But she also said there was "too much illegal immigration". Read more: The nurse also said she could not remember saying she wanted to throw a packet of bacon at a mosque being built in Kirkcaldy but said that it would have been said it "dark humour" if she did. She said: "I wouldn't offend any Muslim people by speaking like that in front of them." Defending the messages joking about Pakistan, Ms Peggie said: "Looking at them, they're distasteful. "At the time they were sent in dark humour, expecting a shocked reaction from the girls." Ms Peggie also told the tribunal she used the racial slur 'P***' regularly when growing up and said the community in her neighbour were "quite happy" with this at the time. Asked by NHS Fife's lawyer Jane Russell KC whether she did not like the Kirkcaldy mosque, Ms Peggie said: "I can't say I didn't like it, but I had a fear of it being built." The lawyer asked whether this was because Ms Peggie had a "fear of Muslims" and is "frightened" of Sharia law. Ms Peggie agreed. She told the tribunal she had used the "Ch***" slur, but said she did not use it to describe restaurants in her neighbourhood. She said she has "never heard my Chinese neighbours complain" about the term. Discussing the Dr Upton's use of the female changing room, Ms Peggie said she did not recall describing the medic as a "weirdo". Ms Peggie said: "I think he looks strange because he is obviously a man who wants to wear women's clothing." The nurse also rejected evidence from her former friends that she was "homophobic" and "devastated" when her daughter came out as gay. Read more: Ms Peggie said she was "originally upset" but only because she feared her daughter would be "ridiculed" by people. The nurse then told the tribunal: "I don't have any bad feelings towards trans people, I just don't believe they should be in the women's changing room." Earlier, the tribunal heard from consultant Dr Maggie Currer, who told the tribunal Dr Upton was "chromosomally male". However, Dr Currer said she did not think it would be appropriate to inform female medical staff of Dr Upton's trans status to check if they were comfortable. She told the tribunal in "hindsight" that she "could have". Ms Peggie's lawyer Naomi Cunningham put it to Dr Currer that "Dr Upton is quite simply biologically male". Dr Currer said: 'She's chromosomally male, as far as I'm aware. 'Although I've not examined Dr Upton she's also in terms of genitalia male, but I have not examined her.' The evidence in the employment tribunal came to an end, with a third witness - Emma Moore, an administrator at Sex Matters, also giving evidence. She told the tribunal that she had received an anonymous call from a worker at NHS Fife at the weekend, with the employee telling the organisation that people were "frightened" to talk about the case at work. In cross examination, Ms Russell KC said Ms Moore's evidence amounted to "no more than you recounting what someone else told you". Employment Judge Sandy Kemp concluded the tribunal, stating that supplementary statements can be submitted up to August 25, while a date for oral statements from Ms Russell and Ms Cunningham was set for September 1 and 2.
The Herald Scotland
10 hours ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
NHS Fife: Key points as Sandie Peggie defends racist comment
The crucial evidence heard from a key witness describing Dr Upton as a 'chromosomal male', while Ms Peggie took the stand to defend comments she made which were described as racist. Here are the key points from today's hearing. 'Need to know' group Dr Currer told the tribunal she did not believe she had compromised the investigation by emailing a 'need to know' group of colleagues about the Christmas Eve incident that led to Ms Peggie's suspension. She also rejected claims that it was 'grossly improper' for her to send that email. The email referenced a desire to avoid 'foot and mouth disease' – or gossiping – about the investigation. But Naomi Cunningham, representing Ms Peggie, suggested that Dr Currer had been attempting to create a small email 'working group' to discuss the case. 'Do you not see a problem with that?' the barrister asked. Dr Currer said: "At that time the investigation had not been completed. The reported behaviour was unacceptable and one of the issues with problems and bullying and harassment is that it is impossible to help if we do not know about it." Upton 'chromosomally male' After a long discussion about chromosomes and biological sex, Dr Currer stated that Dr Upton was 'chromosomally male'. It was put to the doctor by Ms Cunningham that Dr Upton is 'quite simply biologically male'. Ms Currer told the tribunal: 'Although I've not examined Dr Upton she's also in terms of genitalia, male but I have not examined her.' But the tribunal also heard that Dr Currer did not believe the right way of approaching Upton's use of the women's changing room would have been to check if medical staff were 'comfortable'. She said: 'In hindsight I could have checked with medical staff whether or not they were going to be comfortable with Dr Upton using the female changing rooms.' Dr Currer added: 'I'm still not sure that advertising Dr Upton's trans status would have been the right thing to do.' 'Dark humour' Ms Peggie began her evidence by defending comments she shared about the devastating floods in Pakistan, which killed 1,739 people. The nurse said these were comments shared with a private group of friends "Looking at them, they're distasteful," Ms Peggie said. "At the time it was sent in dark humour, expecting a shocked reaction from the girls. I think there was one laughing emoji." Ms Peggie also told the tribunal that she used the racial term 'P***' often when growing up as it was 'normal' in the community. She was asked about her alleged comments where she said she would throw a packet of bacon at a mosque, and claims about immigrants. The nurse told the tribunal she would not treat patients or staff differently because of their race or ethnicity. Ms Peggie told the tribunal she had a fear of Muslims and Sharia law. She did however said she would not say these comments around Muslim people to avoid 'offense'. On illegal immigration, Ms Peggie defended a joke about the floods in Pakistan by stating that 'Britain has too many P***'s' if they want some back'. She was also asked whether it was offensive to refer to the aftermath of the floods in Pakistan as looking like a 'giant bowl of coco pops'. She agreed this was offensive. 'I am not homophobic' Ms Peggie also defended allegations she was homophobic. In evidence, Lindsay Nicoll said yesterday the nurse had been 'devastated' by her daughter coming out as gay. Ms Peggie told the tribunal that she was 'originally upset' and worried about the prejudice held by other people. She also said: 'I don't have any bad feelings towards trans people. I just don't think they should use the female changing room."
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First Post
16 hours ago
- Politics
- First Post
Has Nimisha Priya been pardoned in Yemen? How Grand Mufti's big claim has been refuted
Uncertainty continues in the case of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya, whose execution in Yemen was deferred earlier this month. The claim by the 'Grand Mufti of India' that the woman's sentencing was overturned has been refuted by sources in the Indian government. The family of the man Priya killed has also said that no pardon has been granted read more Has Nimisha Priya's death sentence been overturned? The 38-year-old nurse from Kerala is on the death row in Yemen for killing her business partner. More than two weeks after Nimisha Priya's execution was deferred, the 'Grand Mufti of India', Kanthapuram AP Abubakar Musliyar, has claimed that the punishment was completely overturned. However, the Indian government and the victim's family have refuted the claim. What's the latest in the case? And is there any truth to the Grand Mufti's claim? We explain. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Is Nimisha Priya saved from the gallows? Grand Mufti says… On Monday (July 28), the office of the 'Grand Mufti of India', Kanthapuram AP Abubakar Musliyar, reportedly claimed that Nimisha Priya's death sentence had been officially cancelled. It, however, added that it had yet to receive official written communication from authorities in Yemen. Nimisha Priya was scheduled to be executed on July 16 for killing her business partner, Talal Abdo Mehdi, a Yemeni national, in 2017. However, her sentencing was deferred, and no further date was set. Then came the big claim. 'The death sentence of Nimisha Priya, which was previously suspended, has been overturned. A high-level meeting held in Sanaa decided to completely cancel the death sentence that was temporarily suspended earlier,' according to a statement issued by the Grand Mufti's office and quoted by the news agency ANI. The office of Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar, who holds the ceremonial title of 'Grand Mufti of India', reportedly claimed that Nimisha Priya's death sentence was revoked. Image courtesy: Markaz Knowledge City According to reports, the decision to overturn the nurse's death sentence was taken at a meeting in the Yemeni capital. Senior Yemeni scholars, appointed by Sheikh Umar Hafeel Thangal at the request of the Indian Grand Mufti, mediated with the rulers of Northern Yemen and international diplomats, it was earlier reported. The meeting was concluded with the complete cancellation of the death sentence. According to Musliyar's office, while some key decisions regarding the case have been made, further deliberations were expected. The pending matters, which included a resolution with the family of the murdered Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mehdi, will be finalised through continued discussions, media reports claimed. Who is the 'Grand Mufti of India'? A mufti is a Muslim scholar, an Islamic law expert, qualified to give legal opinions on matters of Sharia. Grand Mufti is the highest-ranking cleric in the country. Musliyar, whose official name is Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, is a revered figure in the Sunni Muslim sect and has a following not only in India but also in South Asia. The 94-year-old cleric is based in Kerala, the state Nimisha Priya hails. He is widely known as the 'Grand Mufti of India', though it is not an official title. He is the 10th person to hold the title. A leader in Islamic education, social welfare, and public discourse, he rose to prominence over the years. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad was conferred the 'Grand Mufti of India' title in February 2019 at the Gareeb Nawaz Peace Conference held at New Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, organised by the All India Tanzeem Ulama-e-Islam, a national body of Sunni clerics. He is the general secretary of All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama and the Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama, two of India's most influential Sunni Muslim organisations. He is also chairman of the Markaz Knowledge City project, a private integrated township in his hometown, Kozhikode, which runs educational institutions, charitable organisations, social service centres, and a cultural centre. Musliyar is a regular at global interfaith gatherings and represented Indian Muslim scholars at international forums, including sessions at the United Nations and events organised by Unesco, reports The Hindu. In the past, he has grabbed headlines for his views on the Babri Masjid verdict and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). In 2019, he appealed to the Muslim community to accept the verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi issue. Musliyar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in March 2020 and urged them to amend the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What is his role in the Nimish Priya case? After Yemeni authorities set July 16 as the date for Nimisha Priya's execution, there was hectic activity going on to delay the sentencing. Politicians in Kerala requested the government to step in, but India does not have a formal diplomatic relationship with the Houthis, the rebel group that controls parts of Yemen, including Sana'a, where Nimisha Priya is lodged in jail. Amid the hectic parlays, Kerala Congress MLA Chandy Oommen reportedly approached the Grand Mufti, requesting him to secure mercy under Islamic law. The cleric reached out to prominent Yemeni Sufi scholar Sheikh Habib Umar bin Hafiz to explore the possibility of obtaining a pardon from the victim's family under the Islamic concept of diyah, also known as blood money, according to a report in The Hindu. The Grand Mufti appealed to religious leaders in Yemen to pardon the nurse in exchange for financial compensation. A coordinated effort involving Yemeni tribal leaders, judicial authorities, and religious scholars led to Nimisha Priya's execution being temporarily deferred, the report says. However, a report by The Indian Express pointed to the role of the Indian government in deferring the execution. According to social worker Samuel Jerome Baskaran, who has been leading the negotiations in the case, the decision to postpone the death sentence was taken by the Yemeni government after Abdul Malik Al Nehaya, ruler of the Al Wasab region, met the President of Yemen on July 11. A day later, he agreed to defer to sentencing. 'The Indian government also got involved in this mission,' he had said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What is the Indian government saying about the case now? The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has refuted reports that Nimisha Priya's execution has been revoked. 'Information being shared by certain individuals on the Nimisha Priya case is inaccurate,' MEA sources said today. Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, was convicted of killing her business partner and Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mehdi in 2017 and was sentenced to death in 2018. What is the victim's family saying? The family of the Yemeni businessman called the Grand Mufti's claim baseless. In a rebuttal to a statement made by the office of Musaliyar, Mehdi's brother, Abdul Fattah Mehdi, denied that a pardon had been granted to Nimisha Priya. 'Certain preachers who claim to speak in the name of religion step forward to create a false sense of heroism for themselves — at our expense,' Abdul Fattah said, according to CNN-News18. 'Talal's blood will not become merchandise in a negotiation bazaar.' Questioning the claims made by the cleric, he said, 'Who authorised them, when, and on what basis?' He emphasised that under Yemeni law, a death sentence can only be reversed if the victim's family accepts blood money — a decision his family has not yet made. 'If any decision is to be made, we are the ones who will make it,' he said. What can we expect next in the Nimisha Priya case? Efforts are ongoing to save the nurse from the gallows. However, when the Houthi Supreme Political Council rejected Nimisha Priya's appeal in November 2023, it left a very small window under the Sharia law – only the victim's family can now forgive her if they were paid blood money. Diplomatic efforts by the Indian government are underway. Indian officials are regularly in touch with jail authorities in Sana'a and the prosecutor's office in Yemen, according to reports. For now, Nimisha Priya's fate hangs in balance. With inputs from agencies
United News of India
17 hours ago
- Politics
- United News of India
Inaccurate info being circulated in Nimisha Priya case: Official sources
New Delhi, July 29 (UNI) Amid reports about cancellation of the death sentence of Nimisha Priya -- an Indian national sentenced to death in 2020 by a Yemeni court for the murder of her business partner, Talal Abdo Mahdi -- official sources today said such information was inaccurate and did not reflect the current status of the matter. Recently, a statement from the office of Indian grand mufti Kanthapuram AP Abubacker Musliyar claimed that 'the death sentence of Nimisha Priya, which was previously suspended, has been overturned.' The statement further said that a high-level meeting held in Sanaa had decided to 'completely cancel the death sentence that was temporarily suspended earlier.' However, official sources have indicated that this information is not accurate. Addressing the media on July 17, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Randhir Jaiswal, described the matter as 'sensitive' and emphasized that the government was providing all possible assistance. 'This is a very sensitive matter, and the government of India has been offering all possible assistance in the case,' Jaiswal said during the weekly briefing. 'We have provided legal support and appointed a lawyer to assist the family. Regular consular visits by her family have also been facilitated, and we are in constant touch with local authorities in Yemen, as well as with the family members.' Nimisha Priya, 38, is a native of Kerala's Palakkad district. She moved to Yemen in 2008 in search of better employment opportunities. A trained nurse by profession, she later entered into a business partnership with Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi, and together they ran a clinic in the capital, Sanaa. Jaiswal added that the government had made concerted efforts in recent days to secure more time for Nimisha Priya's family to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the victim's family — a provision permitted under the Yemeni law, which incorporates elements of Sharia. Local authorities in Yemen have postponed the execution, which was originally scheduled for July 16, following India's diplomatic intervention. 'We continue to closely follow the matter and render all possible assistance,' Jaiswal said. 'We are also in touch with some friendly governments, seeking a favourable outcome.' Meanwhile, Abdul Fattah Mahdi, the brother of slain Yemeni businessman Talal Abdo Mahdi, has demanded the immediate execution of Nimisha Priya. In a social media post, Abdul Fattah shared a formal letter addressed to the attorney general of Yemen, stating "his family continues to seek full enforcement of the retributive justice verdict without delay". He also refuted claims made by the office of Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar that an agreement had been reached during a meeting reportedly attended by Yemeni officials. UNI AAB PRS
Mint
17 hours ago
- Mint
Reports claiming Nimisha Priya's death sentence ‘overturned' in Yemen not accurate: Sources
The death sentence for Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse who was convicted of murder in Yemen, has been 'overturned' and 'completely' cancelled, reports claimed on Monday. The reports citing a statement from the office of Indian Grand Mufti, Kanthapuram AP Abubakr Musliyar, media said the decision was made after a high-level meeting held in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, where it was decided to completely cancel the death sentence. LiveMint couldn't verify Grand Mufti's statement. Unlike in the past, it was not posted on his website or social media handles. His X handle, however, shared the news agency's now-withdrawn tweet about Nimisha Priya's death sentence being overturned. Indian officials handling the case have not confirmed the development so far. Sources, however, said that the information shared by 'certain individuals' on the Nimisha Priya case. 'Information being shared by certain individuals on the Nimisha Priya case is inaccurate,' sources said on Monday. Nimisha Priya, a 37-year-old Indian nurse from Kerala, was scheduled to be executed on July 16, after she was convicted of killing a Yemeni national in June 2018, a decision that was upheld by the country's Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023. Nimisha's execution, originally scheduled to happen on July 16, was halted temporarily just a day earlier, after Grand Mufti intervened and requested Yemeni authorities to reconsider. Nimisha's 13-year-old daughter, Mishel, and her husband had appealed to the Yemeni government for the woman's release. Mishel had travelled to Yemen to join Global Peace Initiative founder and evangelist Dr KA Paul in appealing to the Yemeni government for Priya's release. Priya, originally from the Palakkad district of Kerala, was convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner, Talal Abdo Mahdi, in 2017. She was sentenced to death in 2020, and her final appeal was rejected in 2023. According to Yemeni court documents, Priya, in July 2017, allegedly drugged and killed Mahdi. She is currently lodged in a prison in Yemen's capital, Sanaa. Earlier on July 17, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that it was actively working to support Nimisha Priya and was extending all possible assistance in the case. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, during a press briefing, stated that the MEA had appointed a lawyer to assist Priya's family in navigating the complex legal process in Yemen. This includes exploring options for clemency or pardon under Sharia law. Nimisha Priya 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 partnered with Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni citizen, to set up her clinic in Sanaa.
