A formerly high-ranking Libyan government official was granted bail after being charged by immigration officers over the alleged forgery of a Guatemalan passport.

Mohammed Ali Hassan Fakrun, 51, from Benghazi, was arraigned on Friday, two days after being taken into custody for being found in possession of the apparently false passport when just about to depart for Istanbul.

Magistrate Gabriella Vella, presiding over the arraignment, heard how Mr Fakrun, who once lived in Malta but currently lives in Jordan, had been traveling back to Turkey, his current place of employment.

The man pleaded not guilty to forging or tampering with a Guatemalan passport, knowingly making use of it and forging immigration documents.

Defence lawyer Giannella de Marco pointed out that an official from the Guatemalan state had turned up at the police headquarters, bearing a letter from the President of Guatemala to officially attest that her client had been authorised to obtain the passport.

However, Inspector Mario Haber countered that requests for information by the local authorities had not yet been answered by the Guatemalan authorities.

A request for bail was made, with Dr de Marco arguing that not only had her client until recently held a high-ranking position within the Libyan government, but had no prior convictions and had cooperated completely.

In fact, until some 18 months ago, Mr Fakrun lived in Malta and still had strong ties with the island, the lawyer continued, citing a hotel which served as the man’s fixed address in Malta.

The request for bail was upheld against a deposit of €1,000 and a personal guarantee of €4,000.