78 Europe and Central Asia Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns in the Region, January – June 2007 with an NGO providing shelter for an increasing number of internally trafficked persons. MALTA Migrants and asylum-seekers Search and rescue obligations In June AI wrote to the Minister of Foreign Affairs expressing concerns that during the previous month the Maltese authorities had reportedly failed on at least two occasions to respond in a timely manner to prevent serious and imminent threats to the right to life to people stranded at sea.. On 21 May, an aircraft belonging to the Maltese Armed Forces spotted 53 people in a sinking vessel approximately 88 nautical miles south of Malta. According to reports, it took 12 hours for a rescue vessel to reach the location of the distressed vessel by which point the boat had disappeared. The individuals on the boat, who may have been seeking international protection, reportedly managed to return to Libya where they were allegedly detained at the Al Zoura detention centre. On 26 May, a Maltese vessel reportedly refused to take on board 27 migrants whose boat had sunk. Although the shipmaster did allow them to hold onto to a tuna cage to prevent them from drowning, they remained in the water for three days causing serious risk to their health and lives. Malta reportedly failed to take any action to rescue them or ensure their safety and they were finally rescued by an Italian vessel. Detention of migrants Malta continued its policy of automatically detaining migrants and asylum-seekers arriving in Malta, contrary to international laws and standards. At the end of June, approximately 3,000 migrants and asylumseekers were detained in Malta, with over Amnesty International 1,300 of those being detained in closed detention facilities. MOLDOVA Torture and Ill-treatment Torture and ill-treatment in police detention was still widespread, and during a mission to Moldova in March AI delegates met a number of people who had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment while in police detention. The most common methods of torture reported were: hanging from a metal bar (also known as Palestinian hanging), electric shocks, beating with plastic water bottles, mock executions, and nails inserted under fingernails. The use of torture was explained on the basis that law enforcement officers were under pressure to solve crimes, relied too heavily on confessional evidence, and were chronically under-resourced. During meetings with AI delegates, representatives of the Ministry of Interior and the Prosecutor General’s office readily admitted that torture and illtreatment were a problem and expressed willingness to work with AI. On 29 June, parliament approved amendments to the Law on the Parliamentary Ombudsmen which set up an independent body to monitor places of detention in accordance with Moldova's obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. The amendments proposed setting up a Consultative Committee within the office of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen to include representatives of non-governmental human rights organizations. AI was concerned that this proposal fell short of the requirements of the Optional Protocol because the amendments to the law failed to guarantee the functional or financial independence of the Consultative AI Index: EUR 01/010/2007