Transcript
Loghman Sawari and his lawyer, Aman Ravindra-Singh, were on their way to meet with Fiji's Director of Immigration in Suva last week when their vehicle was intercepted by police.
Mr Ravindra-Singh says the police were very aggressive and bundled Mr Sawari into a car before putting his client on a plane back to PNG.
He says he's very worried about his client's safety back in PNG.
"I fear for his life now. AL: You fear for his life? Why do you say that? ARS: Yes. Because he had fled a few life-threatening situations there. He had been threatened. He had been beaten up. He was living in daily fear and he had fled that particular scenario seeking asylum and freedom in Fiji. Now, the Government has returned him to the very place he had fled."
Mr Ravindra-Singh says Fiji clearly has no respect for human rights at any level.
"This is the same government that harps on about respecting human rights and giving its people full democracy, which is an utter joke. It also shows the deception used by the Director of Immigration in luring us to Suva and assuring us that everything was in place yet colluding with the police and the Attorney-General of Fiji, who is the mastermind of this whole plot."
Mr Sawari had earlier told us that he found PNG very dangerous and he felt unsafe living in Lae, which is PNG's second largest city.
He says immigration authorities wouldn't let him go back to Manus Island to live with the other asylum seekers.
"More than two times I saw the raskol come and steal things from other people. I complained to Immigration. I told them if it's not safe, why you bring me here? I need security. I cannot stay here because it's not safe for me."
However, Fiji's Attorney General has defended deporting Mr Sawari, saying PNG authorities informed him that Mr Sawari was travelling on a fake passport.
In a written statement, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says Mr Sawari is recognised as a refugee by PNG and Fiji has merely returned him to his rightful place of residence.
"Sawari eluded the authorities during his ten days in Fiji while posting photographs of himself on social media at various locations. Under international law, anyone who is seeking political asylum is required to lodge an application without delay. In the case of Sawari, this did not happen."
But Amnesty International says Fiji has bungled an opportunity to improve its human rights record.
Its Pacific Researcher, Kate Schuetze, says Fiji has failed an important test at a time when it's making a bid for a seat on the UN's Human Rights Council.
"The Fijian authorities gave assurances that he would not be arrested before he had that interview. He's been let down quite seriously by those promises and I think serious questions need to be asked because this is a pretty big bungle by Fiji."
Kate Schuetze says Mr Loghman came to Fiji seeking protection and was entitled to a fair assessment of his claim.
Meanwhile, the PNG Government has told Fairfax that tendering false statements as part of an application for a passport or travel document is a criminal offence.
It says breaches will be investigated and those breaking the law will be prosecuted.
And Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection has offered no comment except to say the settlement of refugees in PNG is a matter for the PNG government.
