Nine detainees who on Monday afternoon allegedly caused commotion at the Safi Detention Centre were remanded in custody after pleading not guilty.

The nine men charged on Tuesday were Tunisian-born Merwen Gbali, 27, Lotfi Ouedherfi, 57 and Querfelli Mahdi, 26, Egyptian national Mohamed El Shennwayh Sheri, 51, Iraqi Hussaen Ahmed Hassan,25, Syrian Ahmed Odali Alali,24, Moroccan Ibrahim El Ayachi,26, Libyan Zakaria Abidat, 29 and Ali Mohammed..

A 10th person was unable to face Tuesday's arraignment as he was receiving medical treatment.

Inspector Charlotte Curmi told the court that around 5pm on Monday, a group of detainees had kicked up a disturbance to protest about "the manner they were being treated by police and security guards at the detention centre".

Police alerted to the site at around 6pm discovered that the protesters had barricaded the door leading to their room with beds and heaters.

Upon hearing the prosecution's account of the incident, one of the arrested men stood up in the dock in an attempt to rebut the allegations, insisting that the group had neither caused any damage nor any harm to the officers present at the scene.

A request for bail was rejected by the court, presided over by magistrate Yana Micallef Stafrace, on account of the possible tampering with evidence since other residents at the centre could possibly be called to testify in the proceedings.

Lawyers Helga Buttigieg Debono and Mario Buttigieg were the defence counsel.