About 100 migrants have been arrested in Malta for taking part in a riot in which parts of a reception center were seriously damaged. Two teenagers from Sudan and Nigeria and a 20-year-old from Chad are accused of instigating the riots.
Roughly one hundred migrants have been arrested for taking part in a riot at the Hal Far reception center in Malta between Sunday and Monday.
Those arrested began appearing before the Valletta court in groups of 30 individuals on Tuesday.
Sources within the judiciary quoted by Maltese media say that it is unlikely that the judges will grant release on bail, given both the circumstances and the legal status of those arrested.
During the riot, migrants set fire to the center's offices and archives as well as five of the employees' cars. Parts of the facilities were seriously damaged.
Risk of jail overcrowding
If the detention orders will be upheld, the increase in the jail population in the country is expected to put pressure on the island's detention facilities.
Police say that the revolt started after workers at the center refused to allow a drunken Sudanese man to enter the center. Migrants had been protesting the conditions at the center for months.
Three teenagers accused of starting the revolt
At the mass hearing, three young men that had arrived on Malta in recent weeks were accused of being the instigators of the riots. The three are a 16-year-old from Sudan, a 17-year-old from Nigeria and a 20-year-old from Chad. They allegedly started the riot after they were refused entry to the center because they were drunk.
The three have been charged with eight crimes including resisting arrest and threatening and attacking public officials.
On Thursday, the "Times of Malta" reported that food distribution at the Hal Far center has been halted following the riots. Before, meals had been served twice a day. The situation is reportedly particularly difficult for minors, who are not allowed to work and thus have to survive on an allowance of up to 4.66 euros per day.
With material from epd