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Rabat – The Embassy of Morocco in Indonesia has reacted to misinformation relayed by a Moroccan news outlet on June 2 concerning a Moroccan national stranded at Jakarta International Airport following the country’s closure of borders as part of the COVID-19 preventive measures.
The Moroccan diplomatic representation in Jakarta explained to Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) that the stranded Moroccan national, Hatim Khatib, was transferred to an airport hotel following successful negotiations with the Indonesian Department of Immigration.
The local report in question alleged that Khatib, who had been denied entry to the Indonesian soil along with other travelers of different nationalities, was placed in a basement-situated hotel room.
The embassy strongly refuted the claims, stressing that the hotel is located on the second floor of Terminal 3 of Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. The hotel’s rooms are designed as individual capsules for brief and inexpensive stays.
The embassy said its intervention secured a room for Khatib.
According to the local report, Indonesian authorities withdrew Khatib’s passport, as well as those of other travelers stranded at the airport, constituting a violation of international law.
Read also:Â Moroccan Stranded in the Philippines Dies, Leaves Family in Poverty
The Indonesian immigration department, however, declared authorities will return the passports to their owners before they depart from Indonesia, to keep the travelers from losing their travel documents in these exceptional times.
Despite its efforts and attempts to reach an exceptional agreement with the Indonesian authorities, the Embassy of Morocco in Jakarta said it was impossible to get Khatib into Indonesian territory after the border closures.
Like the embassy, the Moroccan national also refuted the allegations conveyed in the local report, saying he has documents to disprove the outlet’s claims.
“Unfortunately the author of the article did not respect ethics, attributing to me words that I have never said,” Khatib told MAP.
He added that since his arrival in Jakarta, the Embassy of Morocco in Indonesia was mobilized, providing all the help and support he needed while covering all costs of accommodation, food subsistence, and medical care.
Khatib emphasized he has all the supporting documents refuting the sayings that the media outlet attributed to him.
