NGO aditus expressed shock that a Syrian woman with a group of very young children is being detained at Safi Barracks.

"We are further shocked at the news that they have been locked up for around five days, and that the children (or at least some of them) have been ill since they were apprehended," the NGO said in a statement Wednesday.

Instead of providing the woman and children with the necessary support, care and attention in an appropriate accommodation setting, the Government decided to lock them up.

Furthermore, Malta chose to detain them in a detention centre that has been repeatedly condemned as exposing children and vulnerable persons to inhuman and degrading treatment, aditus said. 

This incident flags several elements wrong with Malta's detention regime. 

Firstly, it puts in doubt Malta's public claim that it does not detain children or vulnerable persons. This group is composed of very young children coming from a war-torn country, characteristics that render them extremely vulnerable. Their situation in Malta is aggravated by the fact that, at least some of them, were found to be ill. 

Secondly, this incident highlights how Malta's policy deprives detained people of access to lawyers and other forms of support.

Their on-going detention was only brought to our attention by sheer chance and at no point during their days in Safi were they allowed to talk to a lawyer or other independent professional, the NGO said.

Whereas we are generally able to call in to the 'women zone' in Safi Barracks, it seems rather odd that today - the day when we flagged the group's situation to the authorities - there seem to be technical problems with the centre's telephone lines, but only in the 'women zone'. 

Thirdly, our request to visit the women and children have so far been ignored. This despite clear reference in the Detention Services' new visitor policy to the possibility of requesting urgent and emergency visits.

"We insist that, whatever the legal or immigration status of this woman and children, it is clear that the decision to detain them in Safi Barracks is simply wrong. There are alternatives," the NGO said.

A Syrian woman travelling alone with a group of children, some sick, should have rang several alarm bells: vulnerability, best interests of the child, trauma, trafficking, aditus said.

Instead. Malta denied them access to any form of independent information or support. From information available to us, it looks like their apprehension was immediately and automatically followed by their detention at Safi Barracks, the NGO said.

This is indeed a horrific incident that questions Malta's migration management policies.

We expressed these concerns to the Minister for Home Affairs, Security and Employment and look forward to receiving his feedback.

As always, we reiterate our willingness to engage with the Ministry to explore Malta's migration and asylum policies and provide input on how they can be brought in line with Malta's human rights obligations.