'Boat hijack' Egyptians to be deported

The men had reportedly hijacked the small Libyan refrigeration ship Benghazi II some 20 miles off Malta, locking the captain and two crewmen in the engine room.

An AFM team had persuaded them to give up the ship and transfer to a patrol boat early on Saturday. The 20-metre vessel was then escorted to Malta, where passengers and crew were interrogated by the police.

When contacted, Egyptian Ambassador Abdel Mawgoud El Habashy was quoted as saying that the 16 Egyptians would leave Malta today on a chartered flight and would be investigated by the authorities in Egypt in connection with their escape from the country.

"They will leave tomorrow (today) after having been treated very well by the Maltese authorities. In Egypt they will be investigated for leaving Egypt illegally," he was quoted as saying.

The Egyptian ambassador explained that the men “were under the impression they were going to Italy and they claimed they asked for assistance when the Libyan crew started treating them badly following an argument”.

He said his co-nationals did not know they were near Malta but just asked for assistance because of the situation on the ship.

When they were brought to Malta, the police started investigating the possibility that the men were immigrants trying to enter Malta illegally especially since such vessels do not usually carry so many passengers.

Investigations revealed precisely this and the men have been held in custody until their repatriation today.

Meanwhile, according to media reports, four of the 16 Egyptians had been recommended for a visa by an auditor from Mosta, but the visas were refused.

Certified public accountant and auditor Joe Sammut had written to the Maltese Embassy in Cairo on 17 August 2010 recommending that four men, whose names and passport numbers he had supplied, should be granted a visa to enter Malta to conclude the setting up of a business here.

Sammut, a former Labour Party candidate and former party treasurer, had asked the Maltese embassy in Cairo to issue a visa to the men who were "proceeding to Malta for seven days during which they shall formalise the registration of a limited liability company in Malta and also the formalities regarding the corporate bank account".

He added that his "office and the undersigned are offering their professional responsibility as regards the truthfulness of this application as also for the duration of their stay in Malta".

When contacted, Sammut said he had recommended the four men after he received “a request from an established client of his professional office and that his letter was not vouching for them but simply recommending they be given a visa to enter Malta”.

He was quoted as saying that he “had not met” any of the four Egyptians he had recommended. After the visa was refused, he spoke to the ambassador about why the request was turned down. He then informed the men accordingly.