A/HRC/WGAD/2017/71 Submissions Communication from the source 4. Said Imasi is a stateless person who has been recognized as such by the Australian Refugee Review Tribunal. He has no identity documents, birth documents or documents to prove his citizenship or nationality. He usually resides at the Immigration Detention Centre located on Christmas Island. 5. According to the source, Mr. Imasi believes that he was born in the Canary Islands on or about 27 March 1989. He believes that his mother is of Western Saharan origin, but he has no information about his father. He reportedly spent approximately six years living somewhere in Western Sahara or near that region. According to the source, it is likely that he lived in a refugee camp in Western Sahara or Algeria during that time. 6. The source reports that when Mr. Imasi was approximately six years old (around 1995), he was taken to Las Palmas and then to Madrid to reside in an orphanage. In approximately 1998, he ended up in Paris and became a street child. From approximately 1998 to 2000, when he was approximately nine to twelve years old, he worked as a domestic servant in a house in Belgium. According to the source, it appears likely that, at that time, he was the victim of human trafficking and was a slave. In 2000, Mr. Imasi went to the Netherlands and lived both in an open refugee camp and on the streets. In 2002, when he was approximately 14 years old, he was reportedly picked up by a criminal gang that operated across Europe. The gang allegedly used Mr. Imasi for various drug couriering and money laundering services. 7. In March 2004, Mr. Imasi went to Norway, where he stayed until January 2010. During his stay in Norway, he maintained his association with the criminal gang. He reportedly tried to leave the gang many times, but failed to do so for fear of reprisals. In November 2009, a gang member reportedly threatened him, holding a knife to his throat. Ultimately, Mr. Imasi left Norway on 27 January 2010, travelling through Brussels and Abu Dhabi to Australia. 8. On 28 January 2010, Mr. Imasi arrived by plane at Melbourne Tullamarine International Airport to seek asylum in Australia, due to the harm he feared from criminal gangs in Norway, and the inability of the authorities there to protect him. 9. The source notes that Mr. Imasi was originally granted a temporary protection visa by Norway, but it expired while he was in detention in Australia. According to the source, the Government of Norway has since refused to grant him another visa. Detention 10. According to the source, Mr. Imasi was arrested upon his arrival in Australia on 28 January 2010 by officials from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. As far as Mr. Imasi recalls, they did not show him a warrant or any other decision by a public authority. 11. The source reports that upon his arrest at Tullamarine Airport, Mr. Imasi was transferred to a hotel in Melbourne Victoria for approximately three days. He was then transferred to Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre, where he stayed for approximately two years. In January 2012, he was transferred to Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, where he stayed for approximately one year. In January 2013, he was transferred back to Maribyrnong for around three months. He was subsequently returned to Villawood for approximately two years and four months, before being transferred back to Maribyrnong for approximately two months. On 15 October 2015, Mr. Imasi was transferred to Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre for approximately three weeks, before being transferred to Yongah Hill Immigration Centre on 5 November 2015. He was subsequently transferred back to Christmas Island on 6 October 2016, where he remains today. 12. The source indicates that Mr. Imasi is being detained on the basis of the Australian Migration Act 1958. The Act specifically provides in sections 189 (1) and 196 (1) and (3) that unlawful non-citizens must be detained and kept in detention until they are: (a) removed 2