Teenagers Held In Solitary Confinement In Australian Juvenile Detention Center - Reports

Two teenagers have been held in solitary confinement for 10 days in the Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Center in Western Australia in breach of international standards, media reported on Tuesday, citing an investigation conducted by the local Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2018) Two teenagers have been held in solitary confinement for 10 days in the Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Center in Western Australia in breach of international standards, media reported on Tuesday, citing an investigation conducted by the local Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services.

According to the Guardian newspaper, the investigation showed that the two teenagers had been subjected to solitary confinement in May 2017 after they reportedly took part in the unrest at the detention center, causing damage and setting up fires. However, the United Nations' standards do not allow to apply solitary confinement to children.

According to the results of the investigation, two boys were placed in an intensive support unit for 10 days, where they were kept under a personal plan, which allowed them to leave their cells at least one hour a day, while international standards state that a person is kept in a solitary confinement if they are allowed to leave their cell for less than two hours a day.

The investigators noted that the facility failed to keep sufficient records of the boys' time in the unit but added that they were deprived of the required amount of physical exercise and fresh air.

However, the investigators added that the facility might have avoided breaching Western Australia's laws because the boys were managed in accordance with the personal plan and called for amendments to be made to the 1995 Young Offenders Act, which would provide at least two hours outside the cell for children.