The Administrative Control Authority of Libya issued a report over a scandal involving the Libyan Consul in Istanbul, Fathi Al-Sharif, where citizens who are alleged to have tested positive for COVID-19, were allowed to return to Libya.
The report indicated that Al-Sharif sent a memo to the Under-Secretary for Financial and Administrative Affairs of the Government of National Accord (GNA), stating that 384 Libyan citizens have completed the quarantine period, at the Rotana Hotel in Istanbul, and tested negative for the virus.
According to the established procedure for repatriating citizens stranded abroad, all travelers are required to obtain a certificate, signed by the Consul stating that they have tested negative for the virus, after completing the quarantine period. After this procedure their names will be included on a flight list to allow for them to return to Libya.
The issue began when 14 nationals, who are reported to have tested positive for the virus were allowed to embark on the returning flights. This is despite the Consul’s assurances that they were virus free, causing the Control Authority to halt flights and intervene.
This has resulted in the Public Prosecutor’s Office announcing it had begun an investigation into the incident, and that Khaled Al-Mishri, the Chairman of the High Council of State for the GNA, had allowed nationals to enter the country without being subjected to quarantine.
