Almost every employee at Malta’s consulate in Tripoli has been replaced since the end of last year, the Foreign Affairs ministry has confirmed.

Businessman claims consular staff refused him a visa and said: ‘We don’t care about you Libyans any more’

Most of those replaced were Libyan employees who were deemed to be “performing unsatisfactorily” following an internal audit of the consulate, the ministry has said.

The news came after The Times reported claims that consulate staff members were allegedly soliciting bribes in exchange for Schengen visas.

A foreign affairs ministry spokesman had at the time acknowledged the allegations and told The Times the police were investigating.

However, the consulate has now undergone a staff clean-out, with the previous consul, Nader Salem Rizzo, also being replaced following the end of his four-year contract “as is usual practice”, a ministry spokesman clarified.

Aside from replacing most of its consular staff in Tripoli, Malta has also opened up a consulate in Benghazi.

Malta’s consulates are among Libya’s busiest, receiving over 100 visa applications a day.

The two consulates have issued 6,500 visas this year alone.

But the consulate continues to make headlines with the allegations of Ezzedin Eldali, a Libyan national who claimed last week that consular staff in Tripoli treated him “like an animal” when refusing him an emergency visa for his two-year old son to receive cancer treatment in Malta.

The Libyan businessman claimed consular staff refused him a visa despite the fact that he presented all the necessary documentation, telling him, “We don’t care about you Libyans anymore,” and calling him a liar.

But the government immediately sprung to the consulate’s defence, saying Mr Eldali had not presented any evidence of his son’s illness when he showed up at the consulate.

A letter from Saint James’ Hospital, which was posted on Facebook by a friend of Mr Eldali, actually seems to corroborate the government’s version.

The letter, in fact, is dated May 7 – one day after Mr Eldali first applied for a visa at the Tripoli consulate.

When asked to explain the date discrepancy, Mr Eldali said he asked the hospital for the letter when consular staff refused to check with the hospital themselves.

He told The Times his son had an appointment booked with local ophthalmologist Melvin Gouder.

When contacted, Dr Gouder had no knowledge of Mr Eldali or his son, but said that this was not unusual.

“I don’t usually know the names of new patients until the morning of their appointment,” the ophthalmologist explained.

But Mr Eldali remains furious at consular staff for what he called their “rude and hostile behaviour”.

“I will hold the consul personally responsible for any harm that befalls my son because of her actions,” he told The Times.

A ministry spokesman said that Mr Eldali had refused a Malta-only visa, insisting he needed a Schengen visa in case his son Mohammed would need to move to another EU country for further treatment.

But while Malta can unilaterally issue a Malta-only visa in a short span of time, a Schengen visa must obtain the clearance of all 26 Schengen Area countries before it can be issued – a process that takes approximately two weeks.

Following his failure to secure a visa from Malta’s consulate, Mr Eldali approached Germany’s consulate.

He praised staff there.

“They were extremely helpful and considerate, unlike the Maltese staff.”

This is a bad time for this sort of issue to hit the Maltese Embassy...

He told The Times he had succeeded in securing a visa for his son, although it remains unclear whether the visa obtained was a Schengen one. Although both Maltese and Libyan officials have spoken warmly about relations between the two countries, there have been growing signs of tension in some areas.

Several Libyans were extremely irked by the alleged bribery requests emanating from the Tripoli consulate last November. More recently, the Maltese-registered ship MV Azzurra was detained by Libyan port authorities for almost three weeks earlier this month, following smuggling allegations made by Libyan tycoon Husni Bey.

In fact, Mr Eldali’s case surfaces at a very delicate time, an anonymous Libyan national who lives in Malta but frequently travels back home said.

“Irrespective of who is right, this is a bad time for this sort of issue to hit the Maltese Embassy... and it comes after the allegations of corruption there.

“Some Libyans are unfortunately starting to be antipathetic to foreigners in general and this sort of thing will fuel that sentiment,” he said.

Libya is poised to hold its first general election next month, with the country’s political future still mired in uncertainty.