An asylum seeker detained by Australia on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island is reported to have resisted a second attempt to repatriate him to Lebanon.
Azzam el Sheikh in a Lorengau police cell. Photo: Azzam el Sheikh
Azzam el Sheikh has been denied refugee status after more than three years in detention, but said his life would be in danger if he was returned to his country of origin.
Last month, Mr El Sheikh committed an act of self harm while at the Manus Island airport, from where he was returned to custody at the Lorengau police station.
A source said Mr El Sheikh physically resisted a second attempt to repatriate him yesterday at the airport and is now back at the police station.
The PNG immigration authority has not replied to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, officials from the United States Department of Homeland Security arrived at the detention centre on Manus Island today to fingerprint and photograph about 600 of the detainees who've been granted refugee status.
For those men applying to be resettled in the United States under a deal struck with Australia, a second round of vetting interviews will be conducted at the end of the month.
