In a surprise announcement made today, Home Affairs Minister Glenn Bedingfield said that Muhammed Al-Musrati, better known as Lilu l-King, has had his refugee status removed.
The Minister said that Al-Musrati is currently in prison and will remain there pending the criminal proceedings against him, unless the Court decides otherwise.
“We will not give refugee status to people who don’t deserve it,” the Minister said.
The status removal clears one of the major administrative obstacles against Lilu l-King eventual removal from Malta, although any deportation to Libya would still be subject to the Courts.
Lilu l-King’s protection status in Malta has a complicated history and it’s probably a story of corruption. He was originally granted refugee status in Malta in 2015. His protection certificate subsequently expired in 2022 and his status was withdrawn in 2023, after which his lawyers pursued further protection proceedings.
Lilu l-King is wanted by the authorities in Tripoli. An Interpol liaison officer previously testified in a Maltese court that the personal details and photographs supplied by Libyan authorities matched Al-Musrati and that he was wanted in Libya in connection with alleged murder and drug-trafficking offences.
Lilu l-King is as a former Libyan warlord who ran in Malta an extensive cocaine and hashish-trafficking operation. Lilu l-King is also friends with Christian Borg. He is currently facing serious criminal proceedings in Malta.
In one case, he was originally charged in 2023 with money laundering, tax evasion and participation in an organised criminal group. In January 2024, the Attorney General successfully requested that drug-trafficking charges also be added to the case. He pleaded not guilty.
He is also facing proceedings connected to an alleged violent attack inside a San Ġwann butcher shop earlier this year. Al-Musrati and Noureddin Amer Miloud Almahmoudi were charged with complicity in offences including non-consensual sexual acts, abduction, aggravated theft and psychological torture. Jordan Azzopardi, and Abdulmomen Abudagil are also accused in connection with the case.
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