Trade delegation visas withdrawn

India has withdrawn the travel visas of a number of Maltese businessmen to signal that it is taking a serious view of the case of five Indian students facing a deportation order, sources close to the Indian government said.

A Malta Enterprise delegation, expected to visit India in the coming days, has been informed that travel visas issued to some of the businessmen operating in the education sector have been withdrawn.

The move was intended to send the message that the Indian government was taking the case of the five students very seriously, the source said.

However, the Foreign Affairs Ministry denied any link between the students' case and the visa issue. "The case of the five Indian students is being examined by the Immigration Appeals Board. There seems to be no connection between the issue of visas to members of the trade delegation and the deportation of the students," a ministry spokesman said.

Top officials from the Indian High Commission in Tripoli, including the High Commissioner, have visited Malta over the past two weeks to follow the case closely.

The students, who were studying management and logistics at a Ħamrun school, have appealed a deportation order after being reported to the police for failing to attend classes. Visas are issued to students on condition they attend school regularly.

The students, who insist they want to continue their studies in Malta, were detained for two weeks at the Ta' Kandja detention centre before being released on bail by the Immigration Appeals Board.

Their legal representative, Leon Bencini, said the students were treated in a horrible way. "They are not criminals. They simply had issues with the school and are denying all charges. They lost their freedom for two weeks and that is no joke," he said.

The students are not attending school and their appeal is still pending.

"All they want is to continue studying in Malta and obtain the diploma they set out to achieve," Dr Bencini said, pointing out they had paid thousands of euros to follow their one-year course.