Indians warned against travelling to Yemen

India’s ministry of external affairs has warned its nationals against travelling to Yemen, according to a press release issued by the Indian embassy in Doha yesterday.The statement recalls that the Indian government has already issued travel advisories on January 21, March 19, April 7 and July 30, 2015, wherein nationals have been strongly advised to avoid travelling to Yemen under any circumstances for any purpose until further notice.The embassy pointed out that citizens of India may note that:  the passport or travel document issued by the government is invalid for the travel of the holder to Yemen; any Indian national who travels to Yemen in violation of the notification, shall be liable for action under Section 12 of the Passports Act, 1967, and the passport shall be liable for impounding or revocation, as the case may be, under sub-section (3) of Section 10 of the said act.Violation of the directions will result in Indian nationals being liable for refusal of passport under Section 6 of the said act for a period of seven years from the date of revocation of such passport; any recruiting agent or company sending Indian nationals to Yemen shall be individually or collectively held responsible, and all such agents or company, including all its directors, shall personally be liable to be prosecuted under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, if the Indian nationals so sent are killed or kidnapped or come to any harm, while travelling to Yemen.In addition to the above, criminal proceedings may also be initiated against owners of the foreign ships carrying Indian nationals to Yemen and visas shall be denied to them for any future travel to India.