A magistrate on Wednesday jailed 22 migrants for nine months and fined them €800 after finding them guilty of their involvement in a violent riot at the Safi detention centre on January 6. 

The men were found guilty of insulting and threatening public officers, violently resisting arrest, slightly injuring the officers, disobeying their orders, participating in a riot, conspiracy to commit a crime and causing damage to government property.

They were also found guilty of throwing stones and other hard objects.

The large majority were Sudanese nationals, with seven of them from Libya, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Cameroon and Algeria.

Ages ranged between 18 and 44, with two of them still minors aged 15 and 17.

The riots broke out at around 9pm on January 6 and escalated further during the night, requiring the intervention of scores of police officers, including the riot police.

The police said the migrants had attempted to rush the gate, throwing stones at police and detention officers. Items in the sleeping quarters were damaged.