NEW DELHI: Delhi high court asked the central government on Thursday to take a decision within a week on a request to travel to Yemen from the mother of a Kerala woman who is on death row there for the murder of a Yemeni national.
The lawyer for the Centre informed the court that the top court in Yemen on November 13 dismissed the appeal of Nimisha Priya, who was working as a nurse in the West Asian country, against her sentence.

Priya has been convicted of murdering Talal Abdo Mahdi, who died in July 2017 after she injected him with sedatives in order to get her passport from his possession.

It was stated that Priya injected Mahdi with sedatives so that she could take her passport from him while he was unconscious. However, Mahdi died of an overdose.
Priya’s mother moved HC this year, seeking permission to travel to Yemen in spite of a travel ban for Indian nationals and negotiate the “blood money” to save her daughter.

Blood money usually refers to the compensation paid by an offender or his family to the family of the victim.
On Thursday, the Centre’s lawyer said according to a notification issued recently, the travel ban may be relaxed and Indian nationals may be allowed to travel to Yemen for specific reasons and durations.
“In view of the representation, let the present petition be treated as a representation. Respondent is directed to decide the representation within one week from today,” Justice Subramonium Prasad ordered.
Meanwhile, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that New Delhi is aware of the developments in the case. “On the issue of the Indian national in Yemen, we’ve been following this case. We are extending consular assistance. Since it’s a legal issue there, I would not like to comment on those steps. But we are in touch.”