21 March 2013
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its grave concern over the continued arbitrary detention of children in Bahrain. Although Bahrain is a signatory on the convention of the right of the child and has a member in the committee, children are regularly arrested and held in prisons for months with no regard to their age and the effect that the prison will have on them, both psychologically and academically.
21 March 2013
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its grave concern over the continued arbitrary detention of children in Bahrain. Although Bahrain is a signatory on the convention of the right of the child and has a member in the committee, children are regularly arrested and held in prisons for months with no regard to their age and the effect that the prison will have on them, both psychologically and academically.
Abdulla Hasan, 16 years-old, was arrested from his village Al Naim on 14 March 2013. He was accused of illegal gathering which he denied. Abdulla was taken to the public prosecution and interrogated without the presence of his lawyer and was ordered to 30 days detention. Abdulla is in his last year in high school; he is a high achiever with a GPA of more than 97%. His continuous detention is effecting his academic achievement and his chances to go to university that he’s been working diligently towards. His trial was on 20 March 2013, and his detention was extended to 1 April 2013 for ruling.
The convention on the rights of the child states that “States Parties shall ensure that (b) No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time”. However, the authorities in Bahrain continue to detain children for months, such as Ebrahim Al Meqdad, 15 years, and Jehad Sadeq, 16 years, who have been in detention for more than 8 months now and are tried under terrorism law. Their ruling session is on 4 April 2013. (For more information, see: http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/5581
The BCHR calls on the United States, the United Kingdom, the UN and all other allies and international institutions to put pressure of the Government of Bahrain to immediately:
– Release Abdulla Hasan and all other detained children.
– Conduct a prompt and independent investigation in all cases of violations against children including but not limited to: arrest, detention and torture.
– To ensure that children be held in detention separate from adults, and treated according to the juvenile judicial system.
– To pressure the Bahraini government to abide by the laws of the International Convention for the Rights of the Child