BANGLADESH: 412 juvenile crime suspects still in adult jail

[20 August 2008] - At least 412 juvenile crime suspects are being detained in different prisons in Bangladesh - in violation of the country's 1974 Child Law and Child Regulations 1976.

According to the law, juvenile criminals or crime suspects aged below 16, are to be sent to Juvenile Development Centres or Safe Homes under the Directorate of Social Welfare.

However, failure to properly execute the law is landing juveniles in prisons where they are at risk of being sexually abused by other inmates, and at greater risk of exposure to drugs and maltreatment.

The concerns were expressed at a meeting organised by the social welfare directorate on 'Transferring Detained Children from Prisons to Facilities under the Directorate of the Social Welfare'. 

Participants were told that 67 of the detained juveniles had been transferred to the juvenile correctional facilities from various prisons over the past month.

Brig Gen Kamal, the chief adviser's special assistant for the social welfare ministry, and other officials attended the meeting.

In failing to implement and update existing laws, there had been a lack of awareness and disregard for the rights of children, speakers pointed out.

Mr Kamal said, "The existing child laws are very old, but these are not even being implemented properly."

"The children are most likely to enter the crime world if they are made to stay inside the jails...if they are transferred to juvenile development centres, they will have the opportunity for rehabilitation, motivation, skills training and healthcare," he added.

Secretary Dewan Zakir Hossain said children cannot be kept in jails. Negligent law enforcers are taking children to court, and the court often then sends them to jail.

"The law enforcers, being well aware of the child rights laws, should send the children to the Safe Homes or the Juvenile Development Centres," said the social welfare secretary.

"After the arrest [of a juvenile], police should contact the social welfare directorate or the office of the deputy commissioner. If the charges are serious, the police should appeal to the court to send the accused to a correction centre," he added.

Elena Khan, executive director of Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR), said that police often say that the offender is an adult over the age of 21.

The court, in most cases, do not verify the police's claim, she said, adding that the practice raises questions about the effectiveness of the entire legal system.

Further information

pdf: http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=51129

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