Bahrain: Amendments to juvenile justice law approved
The major reforms in the sentencing of minors have been previously unanimously approved by Parliament.
If a juvenile commits a crime punishable by death, the sentence will now be reduced to temporary imprisonment or a minimum of one year in detention.
For crimes punishable by life or temporary imprisonment, similar reductions will apply.
Judges will have greater flexibility to replace mandatory minimum sentences for misdemeanours with lesser or alternative penalties.
Courts will review rehabilitation progress every six months and may modify or terminate penalties based on the child's improvement.
'The proposed legislation reflects a national commitment to protecting children's rights and fostering their reintegration into society through tailored, rehabilitative interventions,' said Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Nawaf Al Maawda.
'Courts will now have greater authority to impose flexible, child-focused measures that seek to address the root causes of delinquent behaviour,' he added.
'Instead of placing minors in detention centres, judges may order judicial probation within the child's natural environment.
'This probation, co-ordinated by the Child Protection Centre (CPC) and the Interior Ministry's relevant department, cannot exceed three years.'
He added that courts will also have the ability to impose geographical movement restrictions and limit access to certain websites or digital platforms, ranging from two to 12 hours per day – provided these restrictions do not interfere with education, religious practices or work-related duties.
'Judges may require a child to remain at home under the supervision of a parent or responsible adult, who will be obliged to provide regular compliance reports.
'The CPC and Interior Ministry will closely monitor the progress of any child placed under rehabilitation.'
Shura Council woman and child committee chairwoman Leena Qassim stressed that the amendments were designed to enhance the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system while safeguarding the child's best interests.
'This legislation strikes a crucial balance between accountability and rehabilitation,' she said.
'We are ensuring that children in conflict with the law are treated fairly and given a real chance at reform.
'Expanding the role of the Child Protection Centre and introducing more flexible judicial measures will provide these children with the guidance and support they need to reintegrate successfully into society.'
The committee's rapporteur Dr Fatima Al Kooheji noted that the law also strengthened the role of the CPC in preparing judicial assessments and allows the Interior Ministry to follow up on cases and recommend changes in sentencing at any time – without being bound to specific time frames.
'This law enables courts to impose alternative rehabilitative measures even in felonies if mitigating circumstances exist,' she said.
'It supports judicial monitoring of the child's progress during sentence execution and enhances CPC's role in follow-up.'
The new amendments further expand the types of alternative penalties, including prohibiting access to specific websites, mandatory admission to psychological care facilities and periodic attendance at security agencies.
'The goal is to adopt rehabilitative measures that reduce incarceration, protect family bonds and facilitate reintegration,' Dr Al Kooheji explained.
'The law designates the Interior Ministry as the main agency for enforcement, with implementation co-ordinated with the Supreme Judicial Council and the Public Prosecution.'
The legislation has been referred to His Majesty King Hamad for ratification.
Copyright 2022 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
17 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Thailand says over 100,000 civilians flee clashes with Cambodia
More than 100,000 people have fled the bloodiest border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in a decade, Bangkok said Friday, as the death toll rose and international powers urged a halt to hostilities. A long-running border dispute erupted into intense fighting with jets, artillery, tanks and ground troops on Thursday, and the UN Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on the crisis later Friday. The Thai interior ministry said more than 100,000 people from four border provinces had been moved to nearly 300 temporary shelters, while the kingdom's health ministry announced that the death toll had risen to 14 -- 13 civilians and one soldier. In the Cambodian town of Samraong, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the border, AFP journalists reported hearing distant artillery fire on Friday morning. As the guns started up, some families packed their children and belongings into vehicles and sped away. "I live very close to the border. We are scared because they began shooting again at about 6:00 am," Pro Bak, 41, told AFP. He was taking his wife and children to a Buddhist temple to seek refuge. "I don't know when we could return home," he said. AFP journalists also saw soldiers rushing to man rocket launchers and speeding off towards the frontier. Calls for calm The fighting marks a dramatic escalation in a long-running dispute between the neighbours — both popular destinations for millions of foreign tourists — over their shared 800-kilometre (500-mile) frontier. Dozens of kilometres in several areas are contested and fighting broke out between 2008 and 2011, leaving at least 28 people dead and tens of thousands displaced. A UN court ruling in 2013 settled the matter for over a decade, but the current crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash. Fighting on Thursday was focused on six locations, according to the Thai army, including around two ancient temples. Ground troops backed up by tanks battled for control of territory, while Cambodia fired rockets and shells into Thailand and the Thais scrambled F-16 jets to hit military targets across the border. Both sides blamed each other for firing first, while Thailand accused Cambodia of targeting civilian infrastructure, including a hospital hit by shells and a petrol station hit by at least one rocket. Thursday's clashes came hours after Thailand expelled the Cambodian ambassador and recalled its own envoy after five members of a Thai military patrol were wounded by a landmine. Cambodia downgraded ties to "the lowest level" on Thursday, pulling out all but one of its diplomats and expelling their Thai equivalents from Phnom Penh. At the request of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, the UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the deadly clashes, diplomatic sources told AFP. The United States urged an "immediate" end to the conflict, while Cambodia's former colonial ruler France made a similar call. The EU and China — a close ally of Phnom Penh — said they were "deeply concerned" about the clashes, calling for dialogue.
Dubai Eye
4 days ago
- Dubai Eye
Bedouin civilians leave Syria's Sweida as tense truce holds
Hundreds of Bedouin civilians were evacuated from Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida as part of a US-backed truce meant to end days of bloodshed in southern Syria, state media and witnesses said. With hundreds reported killed, the violence in the southern province of Sweida has posed a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, drawing Israeli airstrikes last week and deepening fissures in a country fractured by 14 years of war. A ceasefire took hold on Sunday as interior ministry security forces deployed on Sweida's outskirts. Interior Minister Anas Khattab said on Sunday the truce would allow for the release of hostages and detainees held by the sides. The fighting began a week ago, pitting Druze fighters who distrust the current Syrian government against the Bedouins. Damascus sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence and accused of widespread violations against Druze. Sharaa has blamed the violence on "outlaw groups" and promised to protect the rights of Druze - a minority group whose faith is deemed heretical by some hardline Muslims. Calling the Druze a fundamental part of Syria's national fabric, Sharaa has vowed to hold to account those who committed violations against them. Details of last week's violence are still emerging. Ali al-Huraym, a 56-year-old Bedouin man, said six members of his extended family had been killed by Druze fighters in an attack on the town of Shahba, 15 km (10 miles) north of Sweida, on Thursday. Salem al-Mahdi, 60, another Bedouin displaced from Shahba with his family, told Reuters he saw six bodies in one home there, and the town had been hit with weapons including mortars. Reuters could not independently verify the accounts. In Sweida, footage released by local news outlet Suwayda 24 on Sunday showed what appeared to be numerous body bags in the grounds outside the hospital. The Syrian Network for Human Rights said at least 558 people had been killed in violence in Sweida province since July 13. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported more than 1,000 killed. On Monday morning, ambulances, trucks and buses ferried hundreds of Bedouin civilians including women, children and wounded people out of Sweida to nearby displacement camps, Reuters footage showed. The initial batch included some 300 Bedouins and a second group of about 550 civilians will be evacuated within the next 24 hours if the situation remains calm, said Shoaib Asfour, a member of the Syrian security forces overseeing the evacuation. The next phase would see the evacuation of Bedouin fighters detained by Druze militias and the transfer of bodies of Bedouins killed in the fighting, Asfour said. Syria's state news agency said a total of 1,500 Bedouins would be evacuated from Sweida city. Citing Ahmed al-Dalati, head of Syria's internal security forces in Sweida, state media said those forces would also facilitate the return to Sweida of others displaced from it. According to the United Nations, at least 93,000 people have been uprooted by the fighting. The UN said on Sunday that humanitarian convoys with medical supplies had been waiting to enter Sweida for two days but were not granted access. It said only a convoy of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent had been allowed to enter. Citing the goal of protecting the Druze and keeping southern Syria demilitarized, Israel attacked government forces last week in the south and struck the defence ministry in Damascus. Washington, which has expressed support for Damascus since Sharaa met US President Donald Trump in May, said it did not approve of Israel's strikes. US envoy Tom Barrack said on Monday the Syrian government needed to be held accountable. "They also need to be given the responsibility that they're there to do," he said, speaking on a visit to Beirut.
Dubai Eye
5 days ago
- Dubai Eye
Calm returns to Syria as fighters pull back
Residents reported calm in Syria's Sweida on Sunday after the government declared that Bedouin fighters had withdrawn from the predominantly Druze city and the United States stepped up calls for an end to days of fighting. With hundreds of people reported killed, the Sweida bloodshed has marked a major test for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, prompting Israel to carry out airstrikes last week as it declared support for the Druze. Fighting continued on Saturday despite a ceasefire call. On Sunday morning, residents reported no sound of gunfire in the city after the interior ministry announced late on Saturday that Bedouin tribal fighters had left. Reuters images showed interior ministry security forces deployed in an area near the city, blocking the road in front of members of tribes congregated there. Kenan Azzam, a dentist, described the situation on Sunday morning as "a tense calm" but told Reuters residents were still struggling with a lack of water and electricity. "The hospitals are a disaster and out of service, and there are still so many dead and wounded," he said by phone. Another Sweida resident, Raed Khazaal, said humanitarian aid was urgently needed in the city. "Houses are destroyed ... The smell of corpses is spread throughout the national hospital", he said in a voice message to Reuters from inside Sweida. Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy for Syria, said "brutal acts by warring factions on the ground undermine the government's authority and disrupt any semblance of order". "All factions must immediately lay down their arms, cease hostilities, and abandon cycles of tribal vengeance. Syria stands at a critical juncture—peace and dialogue must prevail—and prevail now," he wrote on X. The Druze are a small but influential minority group present in Syria, Israel and Lebanon who follow a religion that is an offshoot of a branch of Shi'ite Islam. Some hardline Sunnis deem their beliefs heretical. CHECKPOINTS The fighting began a week ago with clashes between Bedouin and Druze fighters. Damascus then sent troops to quell the fighting, but they were drawn into the violence and accused of carrying out widespread violations against the Druze. Residents of the predominantly Druze city have described friends and neighbours being shot at close range in their homes or in the streets by Syrian troops, identified by their fatigues and the insignia on them. Sharaa, in a speech on Thursday, promised to protect the rights of Druze, accountability for violations, and also vowed to hold to account those who committed violations against "our Druze people". He has blamed the violence on "outlaw groups". Israel bombed Syrian government forces in Sweida and also hit the defense ministry in Damascus last week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday Israel had established a policy demanding the demilitarisation of a swathe of territory near the border, stretching from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to the Druze Mountain, east of Sweida. He reiterated Israel's policy to protect the Druze. The United States however said it did not support the Israeli strikes. On Friday, an Israeli official said that Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for two days. A Syrian security source told Reuters that internal security forces had taken up positions near Sweida, establishing checkpoints in both the western and eastern parts of the province where retreating tribal fighters had gathered. The source said some tribal groups had already returned to Damascus and northern areas. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group, has said clashes since last week around Sweida had killed at least 940 people. Reuters could not independently verify the toll.
