Two fifteen year olds held for attending protest in Bahrain

Bahrain: Two boys among those held after protest
7 August, 2012 – Amnesty International

URGENT ACTION

TWO BOYS AMONG THOSE HELD AFTER PROTEST

Two men and two boys under the age of 18 are currently held in a prison in Bahrain after they participated in a protest. None had access to family members until nearly 48 hours after their arrest.

Jehad Sadeq Aziz Salman (15), Ebrahim Ahmed Radi al-Moqdad (15), Naser Saeed Hassan (20) and Hassan Abdul Jalil al-Ekri (20) were arrested on 23 July 2012 during an anti-government protest in Bilad al-Qadeem, west of Manama, the capital of Bahrain. After their arrest, they were first taken to a police station in Gudaibiya neighbourhood in Manama; then to the Criminal Investigation Department for interrogation, before being taken to the Public Prosecutor Office for further questioning. They were not allowed to speak to their families or to contact lawyers until nearly 48 hours after the arrest, and there was no lawyer present during their interrogation. They finally called their families nearly 48 hours after their arrest to inform them where they were being held.

All four are currently held in the Dry Dock prison in Manama and their detention has been extended until 23 September 2012. They have been charged with rioting and “illegal gathering”. They have now had access to their families although some of them have not seen their lawyers yet. At least one of the juveniles told his family he was participating in a peaceful protest. If some or all are held solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of assembly, they should be released immediately and unconditionally.

The age of criminal responsibility in Bahraini law is 15 years old. However being under 18, Jehad Sadeq Aziz Salman and Ebrahim Ahmed Radi al-Moqdad are children and should be exposed only to Bahrain’s Juvenile Justice system and not the regular criminal justice system. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has stated that ‘every person under the age of 18 years at the time of the alleged commission of an offence must be treated in accordance with the rules of juvenile justice’ (CRC General Comment No. 10,CRC/C/GC/10, 2007, paragraph 37). According to international standards on detention, young prisoners should be kept separate from adults.

Please write immediately in English or Arabic:

Express concern that Jehad Sadeq Aziz Salman and Ebrahim Ahmed Radi al-Moqdad are being treated as adults despite being under the age of 18; and urge the authorities to ensure that they are treated in accordance with the rules of juvenile justice, particularly with respect to their detention and any proceedings against them;

Urge the Bahraini authorities to allow all four detainees immediate access to their lawyers;

Urge them to release all four immediately and unconditionally, if they are only held solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression. …more