Spain: Stowaways in orbit
01 January 1995
On 2 January four stowaways from Ghana and Liberia escaped from the Russian ship "Novolvovsk" docked at Pasaia harbour in the Basque country. Four others were caught and held by the police. The Russian captain refused to leave the harbour with the stowaways and the Spanish authorities said they were not refugees and would not be allowed to enter the country. For four days the two sides argued with eight men dispersed between the ship, a police van and a gymnasium - the ninth, a minor, was placed in a public home.
SOS Arrazakeria-SOS Racismo called on the Civil Government to use its powers of discretion to admit the asylum-seekers (under article 12 of the Law on Aliens). However, the Russian Vice-Consul intervened and told the ship's captain to take the eight men. The ship left on 8 January for Rostock, Germany and then St Petersburg.
SOS Arrazakeria-SOS Racismo, Donostia, Euskadi (Spain).