Carmelo 'Charlie' Grech, the Maltese man who has been arrested in Libya is a sea captain with close ties to the country, having travelled there several times over the years, according to Tripoli Charge d’Affaires Hussin Musrati. Addressing a press briefing, Mr Musrati said the captain has been held for the past 13 days.
The 60-year-old Maltese man was reportedly detained over a visa blunder. It was initially reported that the man was travelling on a visa issued by the Tripoli government but landed in the airport of Labraq in the Tobruk controlled eastern region and was detained upon arrival. However, Mr Musrati said the man had not been issued a visa by the Tripoli embassy.
Tripoli Charge d’Affaires Hussin Musrati
“We would like to clarify and confirm and make it clear that the visa that this sea Captian had was not issued from our embassy or other legal channel.” He added that Tobruk embassy did not issue any visas and all visas for Libya are issued from his embassy. As regards the Maltese Captain, Mr Musrati confirmed that he had no visa issued from his embassy.
Mr Musrati said he was informed that the Maltese captain was possibly being held by a Libyan militia for ransom. The man disappeared on 13 August and the Tripoli representative said he was willing to help the Maltese government to bring him back safely.
The Tripoli representative said that US, French and Italian citizens, are also using his embassy to go to Libya. He added that the Tripoli Immigration Centre filters the visas and is in charge of who goes in and out of Libya. Every citizen that has a visa issued has an electronic number and that will be used throughout Libya. Mr Musrati added that the Maltese businesses do not have an electronic number which is issued by the immigration centre in Tripoli.
Mr Musrati said he had not been contacted by the Maltese government but he was ready to give his full support and help to the Maltese authorities if asked. Mr Musrati could not say if there were other Maltese persons being held in Libya and insisted that he wanted to have the man brought safely to Malta. He insisted that he did not see this as a kidnap or arrest because the Maltese people are always loved in Libya.
He added that his embassy had contacted the Tobruk government and confirmed that they did not arrest any Maltese person. What happened, he said, was a mystery and the Tripoli was doing what it could to find out the truth.
The Maltese captain, who has a good relationship with the Libyan community, is well known and was a supporter of the revolution against Gaddafi. In 2011 he used his vessel to ferry doctors and medicine to the port city of Misurata.
Mr Musrati said that the captain had either been detained by a militia or possibly by men loyal to General Khalifa Belqasim Haftar, the military commander of the forces of the Tobruk government. If the latter was true, he said, the Tobruk government should make sure he was released.
He said he found it very strange that a Maltese man went to Tobruk knowing full well the dangers there, and without informing the authorities to provide him with the necessary safety and documents. There were two ways to go there, either through Mitiga airport or Egypt.
Mr Musrati said that despite the dangers, several foreign citizens, including Maltese nationals, were still travelling to Libya. 400 visas have been issued since the beginning of the year.
Maltese people still have business and investments in Libya. The Charge d’Affaires insisted that the Maltese government should deal with all parties and not only with the Tobruk government. He added that the Tobruk government should say exactly what happened.
Government representative sent to Libya
This newsroom is informed, in the meantime, that the Maltese government has sent a representative to Libya to try and negotiate his release. Furthermore, sources said that a second man who was detained with him is probably also Maltese.
A source said the man is being held by militias loyal to General Hafter, who is the military commander for the recognized Tobruk government.
Following the recent unrest in the North African country, the Foreign Affairs Ministry had issued advice against travel to Libya. The warning still stands.
In a statement yesterday the government said it is closely following the case and it is also in contact with the man's family.
Questions have been sent to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
In July 2014, Martin Galea was abducted by militiamen and held for 11 days before his release was negotiated. He had told the Malta Independent how his captors tortured him and how he overheard them plot his execution.
Alleanza Bidla calls for answers
In reaction to the story in the Malta Independent, Alleanza Bidla president Ivan Grech Mintoff said: “The Maltese government’s total mishandling of Libya goes from bad to worse. Instead of working actively for peace, we join a military campaign against the governments of Libya' wishes. We are now talking about the capture and imminent danger of Maltese human life and this is now a very serious affair.”
He said that from the information now given, the statement that: “A Maltese person is under arrest in the area controlled by the (internationally recognised) Tobruk Government. He was arrested on arrival after using a visa issued by the administration in Tripoli”; now seems very much incorrect.
“This is worrying as the reason for his capture does not seem to be a legitimate one. We therefore ask the Maltese government to state clearly officially whether it is the Tobruk Government holding the Maltese citizen or not.
“If it is, then an immediate release of the person should demanded based on being held on wrong accusation. Contact should also be made with him to make sure that he is safe and well and his whereabouts known. All the above can easily be confirmed and done via the great personal contacts our PM has with Tobruk PM,” he said.
He continued that if, however, Tobruk government does not confirm that they are holding the Maltese citizen and if the media is correct in stating that he was captured “in the area controlled by the (internationally recognised) Tobruk Government”, this shows that the Tobruk government is not in control of its part of Libya.
He asked: “So who is the Maltese government actually dealing with in order to secure his release? Criminal gangs? We have had the recent visa scams exposed showing zero scrutiny of thousands of people entering Malta. We now have a Maltese citizen captured in Libya possibly illegally. What next? Ransoms being paid to criminal gangs?”