- An Indigenous Australian boy spent 45 days in solitary confinement.
- The boy was given probation last week.
- He was isolated for 22 days in a row.
In the most recent youth justice case to raise concerns about human rights in Queensland, a 13-year-old Indigenous Australian boy spent 45 days in solitary confinement while being held for minor offenses.
After spending 60 days in custody at the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in Townsville, the boy, who goes by the name “Jack,” was given probation last week.
It is believed that he was isolated for 22 days in a row.
The human rights chief of Queensland claims that the case may have violated state laws.
‘No serious criminal history’
At the detention center 1,300 kilometers north of Brisbane, Jack was facing charges related to a fight with another 13-year-old boy. He was being held on remand.
His attorney, Tim Grau, said that in desperation over his situation, he flooded his cell with water from the toilet and refused to drink water.
Jack had “no serious criminal history,” according to Mr. Grau, who described his detention as “extraordinary and cruel.”
He was 13 and had previously appeared in court once. According to him, even for this offense, he was never going to be sentenced to prison.
Mr. Grau said he didn’t know why Jack was kept in isolation for so long, but he thought it was because the prison didn’t have enough staff.
“One can only assume that other children are in the same situation if he is being kept in Cleveland detention center because there are staff shortages and there are at least 80 children there at any given time.
“You would hope not, but it might be more prevalent than we thought,”
Jack spent six days in adult prisons during his time in detention. He was verbally reprimanded when he was released last week.
The youth justice system in Queensland, which is currently undergoing reform, was also the subject of human rights concerns in a separate recent case.
Another 13-year-old Queensland boy with developmental disabilities was found to have spent 78 days confined to a cell for 20 hours per day in February.
Experts warn that the introduction of new laws in Queensland that would make bail violations by minors a crime would significantly increase the number of youth in prison.
According to State Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall, the recent incidents may have violated Queensland’s Human Rights Act, which mandates that all prisoners exercise for at least two hours each day and have access to fresh air.
He cautioned that changes to the law would just exacerbate things, and that quick advances were expected to stop youngsters from being put in detachment.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think they’re isolated cases,” he told sources.
“Given the laws that are [being] passed in Queensland, which are clearly intended to incarcerate more children, it becomes even more important that the government urgently develops a coherent plan for preventing children coming within the criminal justice system, ” he said.
“My concern is by increasing the pressure on the system, we risk normalizing the mistreatment of children”.
Mr. McDougall urged the state government to “double down” on measures to prevent children from “the path of criminalization” and keep them in school.
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