THE Home Office appears to be riddled with confusion after it backed down in the case of an Iranian illustrator who was refused a visa to attend the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

Perhaps acting after hugely damaging publicity earlier this week when Palestinian writer Nayrouz Qarmout was at first refused a visa and then given one, the UK Government department has confirmed that Iranian illustrator Marjan Vafaeian has now received a visa ahead of her appearances in the Scottish capital.

By contrast, another Iranian, Ehsan Abdohalli, has yet to be given a visa despite the fact that he is the festival’s illustrator-in-residence.

Vafaeian will now be able to take part in two events, one on Wednesday at 5pm with author Beverley Naidoo with whom she created a re-telling of the Cinderella story. Vafaeian will also host the Big Draw event on Thursday at 11am.

Nayrouz Qarmout was due to appear at a sold-out event with writer Leila Abouela on Wednesday night but it went ahead without her. It is hoped she will now appear at an event on Thursday.

Qarmout’s publisher, Comma Press blamed her non-appearance firmly on the delays in getting the visa from the Home Office.

Ehsan Abdohalli is supposed to be taking part in a event called Puppy Poetry, about a collection of poems he illustrated for African-American poet Eloise Greenfield, a week tomorrow, but as of yesterday his visa had not been processed.

It’s the second time that visa difficulties have hit Abdohalli. Last year his visa application for the Book Festival was declined but, after public support, he was then given a visa days before he was due to travel. Festival organisers are hoping for he same result this year.

Vafaeian and Abdohalli’s publisher Tiny Owl tweeted the news of the Home Office’s partial climbdown yesterday: “Breaking news! We’re pleased to announce that Marjan Vafaeian’s visa has now been issued but it was a needlessly stressful struggle. @EdBookFest Illustrator in Residence Ehsan Abdollahi is still waiting ... Why put so much pressure on illustrators/publishers/ literary festivals?”

Last week, book festival director Nick Barley said a dozen authors had been refused visas although, after pressure was brought to bear, the Home Office did eventually grant visas to some.

Barley said: “We are obviously concerned that the challenges of obtaining a UK visa will have a knock-on effect on the international reputation of not only Edinburgh’s Festivals but also arts and cultural organisations across the UK.

“We want to work with arts organisations across the UK, and the UK Government, to ensure that international artists, performers, musicians and authors who are invited to visit the UK by a known arts organisation are able to come to perform and talk about their work without the humiliation of having to provide the level of personal and financial detail currently required.”

He expanded on that theme during an interview with Channel 4 News, saying: “A number of authors have had serial refusals of visas.

“Too much money in the bank account, not enough money in the bank account, and various other reasons which have been given by the Home Office which we have found frankly baffling.”

The Home Office maintained that 99% of visa applications were processed within 15 days last year but Barley insisted: “The system is somehow changing.

“Why is it? Is it because authors are somehow suddenly disorganised and failing to fill in the forms properly? I don’t think so.

“I am having authors saying to me they are humiliated by the process, they won’t come again in future because they don’t want to have to put themselves through the process. It’s changing, it wasn’t like that five years ago.”