Iranian refugee in custody in Fiji, faces deportation back to PNG

This photo of Sawari was taken outside the Jacks of Fiji store in Nadi. Image: Behrouz Boochani/Fiji Newswire

Loghman Sawari, the Iranian national seeking asylum in Fiji, was taken into custody today and transported to Nadi International Airport where he faces deportation back to Papua New Guinea.

Sawari was on his way to Suva with his lawyer, Aman Ravindra-Singh, when police stopped them near Sigatoka and took him back to Nadi.

The Iranian national is believed to have entered Fiji on a PNG passport.

Navin Kumar of Newswire Fiji reports that 22 refugees from Middle Eastern countries are currently registered with the Fiji Immigration Department, with four people having been granted asylum by the government.

Deputy Director of Immigration Edward Brown said Fiji was duty-bound to take in refugees as a signatory of the Convention And Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees under the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).