The release of a detainee charged with manslaughter

The Gaza Court of First Instance released the detainee charged with manslaughter, the child (W.Sh.), aged 16, on the basis of the agreement concluded between the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution and the Al-Rabee Association for the Care of Juveniles. This release comes after the court deemed the child's period of detention, from 3/6/2009 until 19/4/2010, sufficient, on the basis of the reconciliation reached between the detainee's family and the victim's family. Mr. Bakr Al-Turkmani, the Centre's lawyer, stated the need for a court dedicated to juveniles and for them not to be thrown into detention centres or courts with older people, given the danger this poses to juveniles. Mr. Saed Al-Sarsawi, the Centre's psychologist, also stated that during the period of detention the child developed many psychological problems, among them anxiety, depression and a feeling of guilt, as well as his feeling that he was the cause of his family being displaced and of their poor economic and social conditions. Accordingly, counselling sessions were held for the child inside the Al-Rabee correctional institution to make him aware of the problem and how to get past it, in addition to making him aware of the negative effects of placing responsibility for what happened on himself. Al-Sarsawi also confirmed that as a result of these sessions the child came to accept himself and developed good social relationships inside the correctional institution, and there were also visits and good contact between the child and his family.