Call for NGOs to run detention centres

Detention centres should be monitored by non-governmental organisations and eventually run by them, Alternattiva Demokratika said.

Until then social workers should be employed to work closely with the immigrants, in a bid to reduce unnecessary tension that could lead to the need of disciplinary action.

"Incidents involving immigrants in detention centres will remain almost inevitable as long as they are kept in substandard conditions, treated as criminals and denied basic information about their future for many months," it said.

The Green party insisted that detainees should not be punished unless they are found guilty of an offence by an impartial and independent tribunal. It called for an investigation into allegations of confinement practices in detention centres.

AD chairman Harry Vassallo referred to claims by a UNHCR spokesman that he had seen 11 men in a cell measuring three metres by 2.5 metres, with no toilet facilities, proper ventilation or light.

"To make it even worse, it seems that detainees held in confinement are not informed about the duration of their punishment. If this is the case, this is an unacceptable practice that needs to be looked into thoroughly," he said.

AD international affairs spokesman Victor Fiorini said the government should seriously look into its own practices if the claims are found to be well-based.

"Before the government can put any pressure on the European Union about the mass migration phenomenon, Malta has to prove it is a nation that respects human rights and transparency above everything else," he said.

According to the party's immigration spokesman, Stephen Cachia, detention policy could be a necessary evil because of logistical reasons. However, he said, it was important to realise that such policy has not been a deterrent for more immigrants to arrive, and could never be an acceptable tool in a bid to reduce immigration flows.