Young detainees suffer abuse in prison - report

The criminal justice system in Burundi is insensitive to the special needs of young detainees who experience abuse in the penal system, a human rights watchdog has said.

"Children, who are treated as adults, are sometimes tortured for confessions. Most of them cannot access legal advice or representation," Alison des Forges, senior regional adviser to Human Rights Watch (HRW), said.

Rights of children are violated in pre-trial detention, during investigation and prosecution of their cases, and in detention, HRW said in a report following an investigation in 2006. In detention, the children are threatened and abused sexually and physically by older inmates.

"Some adults are really mean to us here. The big criminals, you just have to stay away from them, if you can. Those on death row threaten us sometimes. They don’t hurt us every day, but they will hit you," 15-year-old Gaspar told HRW. He had been jailed for theft.

Another minor, Adolph, also held for theft, reported repeated sexual abuse. "The first time was in the shower; which is very small. An adult came in and just forced himself on me. He was much bigger than me, so I couldn’t do anything and I was in pain. I was too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone, and he kept coming back to me," Adolph said.

Another juvenile, Jean Bosco, told HRW: "Sleeping is very hard; there are about 27 of us in the one room. Some have to sit up all night. There are no separate showers and toilets for us, the children. It’s bad for the kids when the adults are in the bathrooms. I check to see who is in there before going to shower."

There are no separate showers and toilets for us, children

According to the report, no juvenile justice system exists in Burundi and the age of criminal responsibility is 13. Minors between 13 and 18 benefit only from reduced sentences for criminal offences.

More than 400 children aged 13 to 18 are in prison; others are held in communal holding cells and police lock-ups.

Burundi’s parliament is considering proposed amendments to the criminal law that could improve the treatment of children in conflict, if passed, funded and fully implemented. The amendments would raise the age of criminal responsibility to 15 and provide alternatives to incarceration. Pierre Ntavyohanyuma, head of the parliamentary commission on justice, said the draft law was with his committee.

Reacting to the report, the leader of the League Burundaise des Jeunes et des Enfants (LIBEJEUN), Déo Ndikumana, called for the creation of special centres for child offenders.

According to Human rights watch, at the end of 2006, more than 400 children between 13 and 18 of age were in prisons, with many more held in communal holding cells and police lock-ups.

The Human Rights watch research is compiled in a 60-page report entitled” Paying the Price: Violations of the Rights of Children in Detention”. It covered ten from the eleven Burundian prisons.

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