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BBC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nA student nurse cleared of plotting to kidnap a baby from a neonatal ward said her experience of the justice system had left her “smashed”.<\/p>\n Safia Ahmadei was accused of “scouting” New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton for a baby she could pass off as her own.<\/p>\n But following an 11-day trial a jury found her not guilty of attempted kidnap in just 48 minutes.<\/p>\n Ms Ahmadei, who has maintained her innocence since her arrest in February, told the BBC: “My reputation, my dignity, my career is gone, all because of a wrong allegation.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The mother of two was on remand in prison for six months awaiting trial where she said she was attacked three times by other inmates.<\/p>\n Ms Ahmadei was unable to speak to family members while behind bars because it took four months to get phone calls approved.<\/p>\n “Prison made me broken – behind the door, in the dark, thinking about my two flowers… my children,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ms Ahmadei, who came to England from Afghanistan in 2011, enrolled on a nursing course at the University of Wolverhampton in 2022.<\/p>\n She was in her second year and training at the city’s hospital when she said her life was turned upside down.<\/p>\n Ms Ahmadei maintains an innocent encounter with a distressed new mum on the neonatal ward led to her being arrested, charged and facing trial accused of trying to steal her baby.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n She said she approached the woman, who was concerned her baby had been placed by an air conditioning unit.<\/p>\n Able to communicate in Urdu, Ms Ahmadei said she comforted her and sympathised with her raising a family without female relatives in the country.<\/p>\n She also maintains the women realised they had mutual acquaintances and that later that day she returned to the ward to give the baby a blanket. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dressed in her nurse’s uniform but not on duty, she was informed by a member of staff she should not be wearing it if not working.<\/p>\n Ms Ahmadei said she returned to her car, put on an overall to cover herself and took the blanket to the ward.<\/p>\n The following day, she received a call from the university to say she had been suspended from her course.<\/p>\n “I was really shocked. I couldn’t take it in” she said. <\/p>\n “It was my dream to put on that uniform. I was wondering what I had done wrong… I knew in my heart I was doing my best at the hospital.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite being told to stay away, the nurse said she returned to the hospital the next day because she feared she had unintentionally offended the woman.<\/p>\n She also took baby clothes, which she said were an apology gift.<\/p>\n When she arrived, she was surrounded by hospital staff and police were called. <\/p>\n “They weren’t letting me speak. I didn’t know what had gone on or what I’d done wrong,” she said.<\/p>\n “My arrest was the black day in my life. I felt totally smashed,” she said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n During her trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court, the prosecution argued she was planning to kidnap a baby to pass off as her own after lying to her second husband about being pregnant with twin boys.<\/p>\n She admitted being untruthful but said she had found herself in an impossible situation.<\/p>\n “I was scared if I told him that maybe he would be angry and leave me,” she said.<\/p>\n Her repeated appearances in the neonatal ward, changing of clothes and purchasing of baby outfits were part of the the prosecution’s case against her. <\/p>\n But she repeatedly insisted she had no intention of taking a child to pretend it was her own.<\/p>\n “I’m a mother. How could I hurt another mother?” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On 16 August, the jury delivered its not guilty verdict in less than an hour.<\/p>\n Ms Ahmadei said she wept with joy but that her ordeal was far from over.<\/p>\n “I close my eyes and I still hear the noise of the keys, the chain,” she said.<\/p>\n Rumours and misinformation about her online had been devastating, she said.<\/p>\n “My family are not letting me see social media, or the news reports, because they know if I see something it will make me more upset.”<\/p>\n She said she believed she faced prejudice within the Afghan community after separating from her first husband and pursuing an education and career.<\/p>\n “In my mind, it was a plan to put me in trouble,” she told the BBC.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite her experience, Ms Ahmadei is still pursuing a career in nursing and hopes to be re-enrolled on a course.<\/p>\n “I’m a strong mother. I will get my degree but I worry that there could be another Safia in the future,” she said.<\/p>\n West Midlands Police said it accepted the court’s decision and that “our thoughts remain firmly with everyone that has been involved in this case”.<\/p>\n A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said it reviewed the evidence in the case “carefully before making a charging decision”.<\/p>\n They added: “The CPS doesn\u2019t decide whether or not a person is guilty \u2013 we make independent decisions about when it\u2019s appropriate to bring a case to court. <\/p>\n “The defendant has been acquitted and we respect the jury\u2019s decision.\u201d<\/p>\n The University of Wolverhampton said an internal investigation was ongoing and that Ms Ahmadei would remain suspended until its conclusion.<\/p>\n New Cross Hospital did not want to comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nA black day<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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