Annual Report 2012: Spain’s National Preventive Mechanism The visit lasted for three days In addition, it has supervised a flight for the repatriation of foreigners, organized by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (FRONTEX) 18 The Assisted Living Residence “San José”, located in Toledo, was inaugurated in 1977 as a psychiatric hospital, to cater to a population which was distributed in two focus areas: the disabled and the elderly. Said facility is the largest center with these characteristics in Spain. It has a staff of 413 professionals and a capacity for up to 400 people. With this first visit, the NPM starts a new working perspective. The visit, which lasted for three days, examined, on the one hand, the potential deprivation of liberty which some residents might be subject to if they were placed in the center without their consent; and, on the other hand, the living conditions and the care which was provided, on a general basis, to all residents of the center, as well as the use of physical and pharmacological restraints. For the social health aspects, it was considered necessary that the team of the visit include a psychia­ trist, a psychologist and a general practitioner, as external technicians. The con­ clusions shall be analyzed in the relevant section of this report. In addition, through FRONTEX, an agency which started operations in May 2005, joint flights of the Member State countries were organized for deportation of third-country nationals who are subjects of removal orders. Out of these flights, the NPM has had the opportunity to supervise, unannounced, a flight organized by the Netherlands. Such country, together with France, Germany, Norway and Sweden, was removing from the territory a total of 24 Nigerian citi­ zens. At Madrid-Barajas airport 5 citizens who had been expelled from Spain were embarked, as well as 2 from Portugal and 3 from Greece. During the whole operation, each expelled person is under custody by the police force of the respec­ tive country which has ordered their deportation. The Spanish team for the repa­ triation of the 5 Nigerian citizens consisted of 11 people: the Head of the opera­ tion and the Head of the escort team, who was in charge of the team made up of another 9 officers from the Central Unit for Deportation and Repatriation (UCER). During the visit, the Central Unit for Deportation and Repatriation fa­ cilities at Madrid-Barajas airport were inspected, and the team watched the whole process, from the arrival up to the embarkation of the persons that were going to be expelled. This consisted of the supervision of the transfer vehicles, examina­ tion of the deportation and repatriation documents, personal search of the repat­ riated persons, stay at the waiting areas, escorting the repatriated persons in “ap­ proach vehicles” (jardineras) up to the parking place of the aircraft and, finally, embarkation thereon. In addition, while waiting, the team had the opportunity to conduct interviews with the five Nigerian citizens that were going to be de­ ported by Spain. THE OMBUDSMAN OF SPAIN