13 Bangladeshis with ‘fake Pakistani passports’ sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment in Malta

Thirteen Bangladeshis have been sentenced to six months in prison in Malta after they were caught trying to enter the county with fake Pakistani passports.

A magistrate's court in Malta sentenced each of them to six months in prison, Bangladeshi migrants in Malta confirmed to local media.

The 13 Bangladeshis arrived at the Malta International Airport on a flight from Athens, Greece.

While checking their passports, the airport immigration staff found discrepancies in the information. They were scheduled to take another flight from Malta to Italy and then to Belgium, according to the Maltese media.

After sentencing them, the court asked police to collect suitable travel documents for all so they could end their jail term and go back to Greece.

The court heard about this new way of smuggling migrants with the opportunity of free movement within the European Union and told police to contact Greece police and Interpol about the matter.

"The 13 Bangladeshis entered Greece through Turkey and from there came to Malta as brokers. Because brokers make way for people to go to other developed countries from here. However, this is the first time such incident happended with Bangladeshis carrying fake Pakistani passports," said Rajib Das, a Bangladeshi migrant living in Malta.

A total of 158 Bangladeshis who came illegally are now being held in Maltese jails, he said.

In recent times, such incidents in Malta have severely damaged the reputation of Bangladeshis in the country. Bangladeshi community organisers have requested the concerned authority to take necessary action in this regard.

The writer is a freelance journalist.