This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

211021Z Jun 06

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MUSCAT 001004 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP (S. STEINGER), NEA/PPD (DBENZE) 
STATE FOR ECA/PE/V/R/N, DRL (J. DEMARIA) 
STATE ALSO FOR G/TIP (G. PATEL AND M. TAYLOR) 
ABU DHABI FOR W. WALLRAPP AND B. ADADA 
AMMAN FOR J. IRVINE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF SMIG PHUM PBTS OEXC KPAO PGOV PREL MU
SUBJECT: INSIDE OMANI DEPORTATION CENTER, SEEKING 
RECIPROCAL VISIT 
 
REF: 05 MUSCAT 1050 
 
¶1.  This is an action request for ECA, DRL, and G/TIP; please 
see paragraph 11. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶2. (U) A June 19 visit to one of Oman's largest deportation 
centers revealed a clean and well-organized facility, and 
included a tour of the arrivals processing rooms, sleeping 
quarters, interview rooms, and kitchen facilities.  Detainees 
receive medical attention upon arrival, weekly visits by 
local physicians, regular access to embassy representatives, 
and three meals a day.  Seeking to strengthen their 
processing and handling of the over 10,000 illegal migrants 
apprehended every year, the Government of Oman has requested 
that the Embassy facilitate a reciprocal visit to a U.S. 
deportation facility.  End summary. 
 
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Embassy Granted First Visit to Deportation Facility 
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¶3. (U) After a long-standing request to visit one of Oman's 
deportation facilities (reftel), the government of Oman 
invited PolOff to visit its largest deportation center 
located in Sohar on June 19.  The Sohar deportation center is 
one of two centers in Oman (the other is located at the other 
end of the country in Salalah) and it is estimated that over 
400 Pakistanis and other nationals are detained and deported 
from here every month.  (Note:  According to officials, no 
women or children have ever been detained.  Moreover, given 
the high cost of passage from Iran - approximately $300 USD 
per person - women and children are unlikely to have the 
necessary funds or be allowed to travel from their respective 
home countries.  End Note.)  No international 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or embassy personnel 
without detained citizens have ever requested to visit the 
facility.  The first visit of its kind, PolOff was 
accompanied by the Public Relations Director of the Royal 
Oman Police.  The visit lasted about one hour and included a 
tour of the arrivals processing rooms, sleeping quarters, 
embassy interview rooms, and kitchen facilities. In whole, 
the facility, opened just four years ago, appeared neat, 
clean and well-organized. 
 
¶4. (U) According to Royal Oman Police officers (ROP) who run 
the facility, illegal migrants arriving by boat along the 
Iran-facing Batinah coast are apprehended, interviewed at 
local police stations, and then brought to the detention 
facility where they are fingerprinted and photographed. 
(Note:  Interviews at local police stations include detailed 
questioning to determine the detainee's place of origin, 
method of travel, and information that may lead to human 
smuggling convictions for the apprehended boat captains.  End 
Note.)  Fingerprints allow the ROP to determine if the 
illegal migrant has been detained before; in which case, a 
criminal case may be filed.  It is estimated that less than 
10 percent of the apprehended detainees are repeat offenders. 
 Upon arrival at the center, each detainee receives an 
initial medical check by a physician from the Sohar Central 
Hospital.  The Ministry of Health also sponsors weekly visits 
by a local physician.  Although detainees' respective 
embassies are notified within two to three days of their 
arrival at the center, detainees can remain there anywhere 
from three days to several weeks as they await interviewing 
by their respective embassy representative (usually the Labor 
Attache) and eventual repatriation. 
 
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Deportation Center Appears to Meet High Standards 
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¶5. (U) The deportation facility itself is a large, 
nondescript square compound visible from the main road and 
within a mile of the town center.  Within the exterior wall 
there are two separate sections, each made up of six 
rectangular-shaped rooms.  Detainees are housed by 
nationality.  Each room is approximately 30 feet by 60 feet 
and can easily accommodate up to forty persons.  The rooms 
are sparse, but appeared to have plenty of blankets and 
pillows, as well as showers and toilets behind a privacy wall 
along the back.  There is also cold drinking water and six 
ceiling fans in each room.  According to officers running the 
facility, the detainees are provided two hours of exercise 
each day and are given reading materials, cards, and a copy 
of the Quran if they are Muslim. 
 
¶6. (U) On the day of the visit, detainees at the center 
included 127 Pakistanis (which constitute 40.7 percent of all 
illegal migrants detained), 60 Iranians, 30 Afghans, 20 
Bangladeshis, and 4 Indians.  The center is also holding 23 
foreign nationals who violated the terms of their work visas; 
the Ministry of Manpower arranges their disposition and 
transportation separately from the illegal migrants. 
 
¶7. (U) Maintaining the center is a costly operation.  On 
foodstuffs alone, it is estimated that the Omani government 
spends about $21 USD per day per detainee (almost $250,000 
USD a year).  A tour of the kitchen facilities confirmed the 
limited availability of fruit and vegetables, but menus 
featured abundant meat, chicken and fish. 
 
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Repatriation 
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¶8. (U) Once embassy representatives have interviewed the 
detainees and ascertained their true place of origin, 
including village and road, return travel documents are 
issued.  Detainees are bussed to the nearest seaport in 
Muscat and transported home via vessels provided by their 
home countries.  Cognizant of recent ferry disasters in the 
region, ROP officials were firm in their rejoinder that boats 
are only loaded per their capacity, no more.  (Note: 
Pakistani media have been critical of the crowding on 
Pakistani ships.  End note.)  In addition to sea travel, some 
individuals receive plane tickets home from charitable groups 
or acquaintances.  Moreover, the Omani government provides 
air travel for anyone with medical problems or other 
conditions unsuitable for sea travel. 
 
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Anti-TIP Actions 
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¶9. (U) Seeking to strengthen processing and handling of the 
over 10,000 illegal migrants apprehended every year, the 
Government of Oman has requested that the Embassy facilitate 
a reciprocal visit to a U.S. deportation facility.   The 
Omani request is directly relevant to the 2006 Trafficking in 
Persons report on the Sultanate, which recommended that Oman 
"develop and deploy a more comprehensive screening procedure 
to ensure that any (trafficking) victims are identified and 
provided with appropriate protection services." 
 
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Comment 
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¶10. (SBU) This visit to the Sohar deportation center was an 
opportunity to gain a first-hand account of ROP operations, 
facility conditions, and procedures for screening possible 
victims of trafficking.  While disturbed by the allegations 
published in the Department's recent TIP Report, the Omani 
government sought to reassure Embassy officials of the fair 
and humane treatment of illegal migrants.  In addition to 
visiting the deportation facility in Sohar, the Embassy has 
requested a visit to the other deportation center in Salalah. 
 
 
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Action Request 
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¶11. (U) The Embassy requests the Department's facilitation of 
the Omani request to visit a U.S. deportation facility and 
consult with immigration and anti-trafficking officials in 
the United States.  The Royal Oman Police would like to send 
up to six officers to learn more about international 
techniques in processing illegal migrants and victims of 
human trafficking, as well as to observe U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection processes, including interviewing, 
investigation, and deportation. 
GRAPPO