An Iranian refugee who fled from Manus Island to Fiji seeking asylum has been deported back to Papua New Guinea.

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Loghman Sawari was detained by police while travelling with his lawyer to meet immigration officials in Suva.

The 21-year-old's lawyer, Aman Ravindra-Singh, said six police officers arrested Mr Sawari.

"In a very harsh manner [they] ordered him out. I tried to calm the situation, but they would not have any of that," Mr Ravindra-Singh told Pacific Beat.

Sorry, this audio has expired 'Fiji has violated international law': lawyer for Iranian asylum seeker

"The cops, typically as they behave in Fiji like thugs, aggravated the situation … there was a lot of shouting."

Mr Ravindra-Singh said they were on the way to a planned meeting with Fiji's director of immigration when the arrest happened.

He said police handed Mr Sawari over to immigration authorities.

"I said to him [the immigration officer] that I had a meeting with the director of immigration [and] there was obviously some misunderstanding," Mr Ravindra-Singh said.

"He simply said, 'I do not know the director, I don't know who he is'.

"Before I could say another word, the door was shut and the vehicle sped … toward the airport."

Mr Sawari said he had been beaten and bullied while in PNG and was worried about being sent to the US if President Donald Trump approved Australia's refugee deal.

Mr Sawari has already spent three years on Manus Island and has been critical of Australia's treatment of asylum seekers and refugees.

Fiji defends deportation

Fiji's Attorney-General said Mr Sawari was deported because he had entered Fiji on a fraudulent PNG passport and had failed to apply for asylum despite being in the country for 10 days.

In a statement, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had advised Fiji that Mr Sawari was not recognised as a refugee under their mandate, only by PNG under its own national procedures.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said Fiji "has merely returned Sawari to his rightful place of residence".

He said Mr Sawari eluded authorities during his 10 days in Fiji while posting photographs of himself on social media at various locations.

He said his lawyer failed to facilitate a prompt application as required under international conventions regarding applications for refugee status.

The UN Refugee Agency said it had sought assurances from Fiji's Government this week that Mr Sawari would have access to the country's asylum procedures.

"UNHCR deeply regrets that interventions to prevent Mr Sawari's forced return were not successful, and is profoundly concerned for his welfare," it said in a statement.

David Manne, Executive Director of Refugee Legal in Melbourne, said that Fiji appeared to have "flagrantly violated" its obligations under the United Nations refugee convention by deporting Mr Sawari without even hearing his claim to asylum.

"The central obligation really of Fiji as signatory is to ensure that it does not expel a person seeking protection to a place where they may well face further dangers," he said, adding that there were concerns Mr Sawari could face legal penalties because he appeared to have fled with a false passport.

"It's very unclear whether he will face any penalties because of the way in which he departed."

ABC