The Commissioner for Children, Carmen Zammit, has expressed concern over the “recent trend” of children being sent to prison.

“Facilities for children held in detention are lacking and some of the children being sent to the Corradino Correctional Facility are being transferred to Mt Carmel Hospital, is if this is in their best interest” the commissioner said.

Ms Zammit said she was appealing to all those involved in this issue to uphold the spirit of the Rights of the Child Convention, which called for alternative methods to detention.

She also referred to the Manifesto for Children issued by her office and augured that alternatives are provided to deal with children who would have committed a crime.

The lobby group Mid-Dlam Ghad-Dawl last week held a protest outside the law courts to insist that children should not be sent to prison.