Syrian chief denied visa for London Olympic Games: report

LONDON: Britain has refused to grant the head of the Syrian Olympic Committee a visa to travel to London for the Games, the BBC reported on Friday.

General Mowaffak Joumaa’s application was refused due to his links to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, which has launched a bloody crackdown on protests, said the BBC.

The Home Office interior ministry, which deals with visa applications, and the Foreign Office, both refused to comment when contacted by AFP, saying they “do not discuss individual cases”.

The decision was made at a meeting of officials from the Home Office, the Foreign Office and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and is expected to be ratified by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the report said.

British ministers had already warned that Joumaa could have his visa refused.

“We would have to talk to the IOC but yes, of course we can (block his attendance),” sports minister Hugh Robertson said in May.

“We will have to see when his application comes through. We have the power to refuse anybody a visa.”

Joumaa has been invited to attend the Games by the IOC and is not on a European Union list of Syrian officials banned from travelling to the bloc.