Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Photo Credit: Amnesty
Amnesty International released a report titled, “Bahrain: Children in a Maze of Injustice.” The report accuses Bahraini security officers of arresting scores of children ”on suspicion of participating in anti-government protests” including some as young as 13. Amnesty says that some children “were blindfolded, beaten and tortured in detention over the past two years,” while others “were threatened with rape in order to extract forced confessions.” Many of the victims have been denied access to their families and lawyers while subject to interrogation for extended periods of time.
Many of the children under the age of 15 are being held at a Juvenile Center in Manama under the control of the Ministry of Interior. Amnesty claims that “during the day they are attended by social workers but at night, when most abuses tend to take place, Bahraini police take over.” Once the children reach the age of 15 they are often transferred to facilities for adults such as Jaw Prison in southeast Bahrain to serve the rest of their prison sentences. In total, Amnesty estimates that at least “110 children aged between 16 and 18 are held at the Dry Dock Prison… pending investigation or trial.”
Bahrain is a signatory to the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child, which defines a child as anyone below the age of 18. The convention explicitly prohibits torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of children. However last August, Bahrain amended a juvenile law stating that the parents of anyone under the age of 15 who takes part in a demonstration, public gathering or sit-in would receive a written warning from the Ministry of Interior. The law also indicates that if a child is found guilty of a second offence within six months the child’s father could be handed a jail sentence, a fine or both. Amnesty International calls on Bahrain to “consider alternative penalties for children who have committed internationally recognizable criminal offences such as probation and community service.”
