CAT/C/41/D/323/2007 page 3 Factual background 2.1 On 31 January 2007, the Spanish maritime rescue tug Luz de Mar sailed from Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain, in response to a distress call sent by the cargo vessel Marine I, which had capsized in international waters with 369 immigrants from various Asian and African countries on board. 2.2 On 4 February 2007, the Luz de Mar reached the Marine I and towed it. At that time, diplomatic negotiations began between Spain, Senegal and Mauritania regarding the fate of Marine I, as a result of which the two ships remained anchored off the Mauritanian coast for eight days. 2.3 On 9 February, a Spanish Civil Guard patrol boat carrying members of the non-governmental organization Médecins du Monde, a representative of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior and Civil Guard personnel, accompanied by a delegation from Guinea, which had come to identify persons of African origin aboard the Marine I, tried to reach the place where the ships were anchored. However, the operation was hampered by poor sea conditions. On 11 February, the operation resumed, with the additional presence of Spanish Red Cross personnel and Mauritanian health personnel. After boarding the Marine I, members of the operation provided health care to the passengers, who were in a poor state of health. 2.4 On 12 February, the Spanish and Mauritanian Governments concluded an agreement that allowed the passengers of the cargo vessel to disembark in the port of Nouadhibou, Mauritania, the same day.1 In the hours that followed, the Spanish national police force proceeded to identify the immigrants who had landed. Of these, 35 persons of Asian origin were transferred to the Canary Islands to initiate asylum application procedures on the advice of the Spanish Commission for Refugee Assistance (CEAR). Another 35 persons, of African origin, were transferred to the Canary Islands on 13 February on an aircraft chartered by Spain. The complainant argues that neither the proper procedures nor the guarantees provided for under Spanish legislation governing aliens were observed during this transfer. He adds that, according to official Spanish sources, the place to which the persons were transferred had to be kept secret for security reasons. On 16 March, these individuals were transferred to Guinea, although their precise whereabouts remain unknown. 2.5 On 14 February 2007, the immigrant identification process was completed. According to the complainant, all but 23 of the alleged victims requested asylum or signed voluntary repatriation agreements and were repatriated to India or Pakistan with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). During the recognition procedure, the alleged victims declared that the reason for their departure from India was fear of ostensible persecution as a result of the conflict in Kashmir. The complainant notes that this agreement provided for the payment of €650,000 to Mauritania by Spain for transfer of the immigrants to Mauritania. 1