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Dubai: Children accused of committing crimes are being held for interrogation and often treated as suspects when they are in fact victims of crime, legal experts have said.
The UAE Federal Juveniles, Delinquents and Vagrants Law Number 9 (1976) prohibits a minor from being imprisoned, handcuffed or temporarily detained during primary investigation.
Minors should also not appear in an adult court. However, the country's police and public prosecutors are accused of being unaware of these restrictions.
Last month, a 17-year-old Azerbaijani girl, who has been living here with her mother for the past 10 years was arrested, jailed and given a deportation order. Police accused her of committing adultery but according to the National Committee To Combat Human Trafficking, she was underage and should have been viewed as a victim not a suspect.
In most emirates, expatriate teens involved in crime are jailed with adults, which is unacceptable - and illegal.
Dr Adel Khamis Al Memari of Al Itizan advocates and consultants in Sharjah said: "An incident happened in one of the country's jails where a 17-year-old boy who was involved in a traffic accident was jailed with adults and those adults raped him inside the jail."
Dr Al Memari said there was an urgent need to improve judicial procedures and there must be alternatives to detention.
He said despite the law concerning juvenile offenders being issued in 1976 specialised courts for juveniles had only been established in recent years. Just recently, he added, in some emirates, institutions for Emirati juvenile delinquents had been established.
Handcuffed
"Unfortunately the police are ignorant of the law, adolescents involved in crime are handcuffed and detained with adults."
Last month, a quarrel involving a knife took place between a number of Emirati children in front of their school.
Three children, ages 13 to 15, were arrested and interrogated from 4pm to 3am at the police station. One of the children, age 15, who used the knife was handcuffed and detained at the station with adult suspects.
The boy told his family that the people with whom he was detained encouraged him to take revenge against the people who put him in jail.
In May last year two Syrian sisters, ages 15 and 13, were arrested by Sharjah Police at the Gold Souq for selling a Dh1,000 ring at a jewellery shop. They were not allowed to contact their parents.
Judge Mohammad Yousuf, Deputy Director of Dubai Courts, said juveniles who commit offences must be engaged in community service rather than placed in institutional care.
"The age of criminal responsibility in the UAE is seven years. A child faces jail, deportation or any other punishment to be decided by the court."
The age of liability should be raised to at least 12, he said.
Legal Consultant Judge Aisar Fuad, at the Dubai Appeal Court said teens in conflict with the law must be dealt with as victims.
He said the UAE juvenile law prohibits the detention of minors, even temporarily, during police or public prosecutor investigations.
He said minors could not be given punishments such as the death sentence or life imprisonment.
Judge Fuad said if a juvenile does require confinement, the period of confinement shall not exceed one week and must be carried out in a special environment in which social and educational services are available.
He said interrogation of minors must be with parents or guardians in attendance, no handcuffs should be used, there should be no detention, they cannot be pictured and no one has the right to report their crimes in any kind of publication. Minors must not be kept in detention with adults for whatever reason.
Minors' rights in Dubai must not be abused and Dubai Juvenile Court is ready to receive any complaints in this regard. If police or public prosecutors are handcuffing minors or detaining them even for an hour with adults this must be reported to us," Judge Fuad said.
"In Dubai courts we have a minors' committee which comprises members of the court, police and public prosecutors and Dubai Police human rights members who are keen to safeguard the rights of children involved in crimes or offences," he said.
He said Dubai courts had also established a committee to look into humanitarian cases, which repeals deportation sentences against adults and minors.
"We have in Dubai court a team to assist and take care of minors in trouble with the law. Juvenile judges follow up minors' situations even after sentencing them. We have chosen to have women as members of the juvenile court team, as this is important as the child will feel more secure with a woman," he said.
Judge Fuad said the police and public prosecutors must focus on finding different methods of dealing with juvenile offenders.
"In Dubai aberrant juveniles are taken care of at appropriate correctional facilities in Al Qusais which receives children of all nationalities and where they are offered the best social care. There are mistakes in any society but we are trying our best to avoid and to correct any obstacles that could happen in relation to the issue of minors. We are preparing recommendations to be submitted at the Ministry of Justice regarding children's rights," he said.
Judge Fuad said schools in Dubai are asked by the court to secure children in conflict with the law and to deal with their cases confidentially.
"In addition schools are also informed by courts that such children must not miss a single day of schooling; if this happens, parents must report the case to the juvenile court," he said.
Key changes
Dr Al Memari said the law relating to juvenile delinquents was old and most of its articles were inactive and needed to be amended. He said there was a need for a major new law, designed to improve the country's juvenile justice system.
"There must be key changes to push the rights of children in conflict with the law. A step forward in the juvenile justice system in the country must be taken and the way in which this law is dealt with on various levels must be changed," Dr Al Memari said.
He said the changes should begin with the age of accountability which should not be as low as seven.
Dr Al Memari added a different mechanism must be found for interrogation with juveniles. We should not wait several years before it sees the light of day," he said.
"The separation between juveniles and adults and between males and females in prison must be maintained," he said.
"Many minors who are sentenced to jail beg the judge not to keep them in the same jail as adults," he said.
He also stressed the inhumanity of deporting a minor who is involved in a crime.
"Ordering a child to be deported means ruining that child's whole family," he said.
Dr Al Memari said most of the juvenile law's articles are not implemented.
"We can say some departments, such as the police, are implementing the opposite of those articles such as handcuffing minors and jailing them with adults," he said.
The age of criminal responsibility in the UAE is seven years. A child faces jail, deportation or any other punishment to be decided by the court."
Juveniles can be jailed for periods ranging from one month to 10 years depending on the severity of the crime committed. Expatriates are deported soon after completion of their jail term.
Causes: Consequences
- Juveniles whose cases are pending in the courts are deprived of the basic requirement of education, as they are not allowed to go to school.
- Common crimes committed by juveniles are sexual harassment, homosexuality, rape, suicide attempts, fights with or without knives, drugs, thefts, driving without a licence, abetting crime, prostitution, very few are murders or attempted murder.
- uvenile crimes committed in the age range of 9 to 17 are increasing annuallyas children are becoming more violent.
- According to statistics, 50 per cent of the juveniles who are involved in crimes are not given enough time or attention by their parents.
- The number of juvenile delinquents, including Emiratis and expatriates, could reach 200 in each emirate.
Definition: Who is a juvenile?
- UAE and international laws define minors as a person under 18 years old.Juveniles are subject to measures such as:
- Reprimand
- Placement under the custody of a parent or guardian
- Judicial examination
- Being banned from certain places
- Being banned from certain jobs
- Being committed to a therapeutic shelter, rehabilitation, educational or reform institution as appropriate
- Deportation for expatriate children
Around the nation: Detention centres
Juveniles of all nationalities are detained at the Juveniles Centre located at Al Qusais police station.
However, Dubai Police usually detains minors with adults until transferring him or her to the Juvenile Department.
In Sharjah, the Social Education Home is open only to Emirati juveniles, both male and female. They are held in custody at a social education home if they violate the law.
Expatriate juveniles are detained at the Sharjah Central Jail with adults.
In Abu Dhabi, juveniles of all nationalities who commit crimes are kept at Al Mafraq Juvenile Centre.
In Ajman, juveniles who offend the law are detained at the central jail in a place allocated for minors. Ras Al Khaimah has no separate jail for expatriate minors as they are kept with adults at the central jail.
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