Lilu King loses refugee status

Mohammed Elmushraty known as Lilu King, has lost his refugee status, Home Affairs Minister Glenn Bedingfield announced on Thursday.

Bedingfield said Elmushraty had originally been granted refugee status after fleeing his native Libya because of the civil war there.

However, the minister said the situation had since changed and Elmushraty had been informed by the International Protection Agency, which falls under the Home Affairs Ministry, that he no longer qualified for refugee status.

Elmushraty is currently being held at Corradino Correctional Facility under preventive custody while court proceedings are ongoing in connection with two cases.

He is currently facing charges over a “extremely graphic” San Ġwann assault with a raft of charges including complicity in non-consensual sexual acts, abduction, aggravated theft, and psychological torture.

The Libyan national is also facing proceedings relating to an alleged assault at a Sliema beach club in May 2023, which left a man grievously injured.

Bedingfield said Elmushraty would remain in custody unless the court decided otherwise.

The minister said the government would not grant international humanitarian protection to people who were not entitled to it.