A 15-year-old pregnant girl on Friday became the fourth child to be sent to prison in two months, the group Mid-Dlam Ghad-Dawl complained today.

The girl, a Bulgarian, was sent to detention on Friday after being accused of pickpocketing and remained in prison up to Sunday. Because of her four-month pregnancy the prison authorities immediately sent her to hospital.

The group said it appreciated that each case had to be seen on its own merits, but it was concerned how children were being sent to prison by the courts. It said that the criminal code provided various alternatives to incarceration.

The group said the civil authorities, notable the Commissioner for Children, should examine the situation .

The prisons, the group said, was not the place for children.