Six NGOs have condemned the migrants' riot which broke out at Hal Far Detention Centre and called for an independent inquiry into how it happened and how it was handled.

Aditus Foundation, Integra Foundation, JRS Malta, KOPIN, the People for Change Foundation, and SOS Malta also reiterated their calls for a radical review of Malta’s mandatory detention policy.

They said that throughout the years, they had urged the authorities to assess the legal and human impact of maintaining a detention policy that had been repeatedly condemned by the European Court of Human Rights as being in violation of legally protected fundamental human rights.

"Whilst we condemn all forms of violent protest, we also note that publicly available information seems to be in contrast to statements provided by the Ministry for Home Affairs and National Security.

"This possible divergence underlines the urgent need for the Ministry to establish an independent and speedy inquiry, which should be mandated to objectively establish the course of events before, during and after the riot.

"Furthermore we would like to underline that our attempts at engaging with the Ministry on this delicate issue of national importance have so far been ignored. In a spirit of cooperation and dialogue, we once again call on the Minister to re-establish communication with us in order to work together in seeking solutions to the current state of affairs.

"We also invite the Parliamentary Immigration Committee members to engage with us so that we can share our experiences and expertise in this matter," the NGOs said.