Aditus has condemned the use of violence on Tuesday by a number of detained at Safi Detention Centre.

The organisation, founded on the principles of the universality, interdependence and indivisibility of all fundamental human rights, also expressed sympathy with police and detention service officers injured during the event.

However, aditus chairman Neil Falzon pointed out that:

"The Detention Services officers are called to implement a strict detention policy that insists on locking up people in filthy, crammed and suffocating spaces."

"Malta has repeatedly been told that the physical conditions in Safi centre are simply unacceptable, and that an arbitrary 18-month long detention without any real possibility of legal challenge is an affront to human dignity."

Aditus reiterated that the men protesting on Tuesday, and most other migrants detained this year, were suddenly caught up in war that was not their own, where their lives and security were in real, serious and imminent danger.

"Who wouldn't jump onto a boat that offered even the slightest possibility of safety, life, shelter? And in acknowledgement of their desperate attempts to remain alive, we pack them up in warehouses and forget they exist."

Aditus urged the Maltese authorities not to ignore the appeals emerging from the Safi protest, and to initiate an inclusive dialogue process with all stakeholders with a view of reviewing its relevant laws and policies.

"If Malta wants the European Union to show more solidarity in its regard, then Malta should demonstrate that it is really doing its utmost to uphold European values," the organisation said.