The Libyan national who had served as a middleman in the medical visas racket claims that his children have been threatened for the second time this week.
A report to the police, filed by Khaled Ben Nasan at Swieqi police station on Friday morning, alleges that he received an SMS, in English, on Thursday night that read: “Khaled I gave you a warning and this is your last chance if you send any information or present any files or any recordings about me or [name withheld] or [name withheld] or [name withheld] or anyone from the staff of visa unit you will never see your children again.”
In his report, Mr Ben Nasan explains how, at around 11pm on Thursday evening, he had noticed four missed calls on his phone from a number with which he was not familiar. The report goes on to explain how he found the phone belonging to the SMS number switched off when he tried to return the call.
The phone number was supplied to the police and this newspaper also tried calling it several times, but our calls were always diverted to voicemail.
Mr Ben Nasan says this was the second threat against his family he has received this week. In another report to the police, filed on Wednesday morning at St Julian’s police station, Mr Ben Nasan claimed to have had his children threatened. In the earlier report, Mr Ben Nasan said that he received a call on his mobile phone at 9.10pm on Tuesday night from a number appearing as ‘unknown’.
The caller, speaking in Maltese, told Mr Ben Nasan: “[If] you are going to say something and give documents and video, you can forget your children.”
According to his report filed with the police on Friday, which has been seen by this newspaper, Mr Ben Nasan asked the anonymous caller: “What do you mean ‘forget them’,” to which the caller replied “God forgive them [Alla jahfrilhom].”
Mr Ben Nasan then asked the unknown caller whether this was a threat and was given the reply: “Take it as you will. Before you get home [from the programme, which was meant to be aired live] forget your children.”
Mr Ben Nasan has been at the epicentre of the medical visas scandal since it was recently revealed how he had written to former Health Minister Konrad Mizzi – as well as his successor Chris Fearne – to allege how a member of the Ministry’s staff, Neville Gafa, had skipped off with close to €38,000 in fees that Libyans allege they paid for the issuance of medical visas.
The visas from that batch of applicants had not been granted and, as alleged by Mr Ben Nasan, the passports had been returned without the visas or the visa ‘fees’.
Mr Gafa has since denied any wrongdoing or having received any funds apart from his government salary, despite the fact that this newsroom has published transcripts of Viber message conversations and receipts for the payment of ‘fees’ made by Libyan would-be patients.
It had been known since last Saturday that more details were to emerge from a television programme hosted by Ivan Grech Mintoff, the leader of the Alleanza Bidla political party and who has served as an interlocutor for the long and winding story, although it had never been publically stated that Mr Ben Nasan was to be interviewed.
This newspaper is informed that the programme was cancelled on account of other considerations, and that it will be broadcast shortly on one medium or another.