Bahrain’s juvenile justice system is often presented by authorities as a model of progress and reform, but in reality, experiences of children behind detention walls tell a very different story. For years, Bahrain has been criticized for the arbitrary arrest, detention, and ill-treatment of minors, especially those involved in peaceful protests. Despite the government’s enforcement of its 2021 and 2025 reforms as progressive milestones, promising rehabilitation, protection, and restorative justice. The reports continue to expose a system where minors are still subject to arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and systemic rights violations. It is hard to overlook the paradox: Bahrain continues to abuse children in detention facilities in violation of both its own laws and its commitment under the Convention against Torture, whilst using the language of change on a global scale.
Juvenile sentencing was supposed to change with the introduction of recent legislation, such as Law No. 20 and Law No.21 of 2025. Through initiatives like electronic monitoring, home probation, psychological rehabilitation, and reintegration programs overseen by the Ministry of Interior and the Child Protection Center, the revisions increase the number of alternatives to incarceration. Officials assert that these modifications bring Bahrain into compliance with international norms and provide courts more power to modify punishments in accordance with a child’s development. These legal actions, in principle, represent advancement. However, the application of law, rather than wording, is the true test of change. Bahrain continues to collapse at its weakest point.
The human rights issues of child imprisonment in Bahrain are not abstract; rather, they are based on the reality of experiences of kids who are held, arrested, interrogated, and detained under conditions that undermine their safety, dignity, and future. Human rights organizations have widely recorded instances of children well underage being removed by security personnel, questioned without guardians or legal representation, and detained in institutions under the Ministry of Interior jurisdiction. Nonetheless, the law prohibits imprisoning minors under the age of 15. Reports from UN agencies, HRW, and ADHRB detail patterns of abuse, such as medical negligence, psychological intimidation, and denial of fundamental rights, including family rights.
One of the most alarming issues is the persistent lack of adequate medical care inside detention centers. Despite government assurance, children and adult detainees alike report medical neglect, delayed treatment, and denial of access to a hospital, even in cases of chronic illness. The Committee Against Torture highlights the death of two prisoners in the past years due to negligent medical care. Thus, raises the question: if adults cannot access adequate healthcare, what chance do children have?
Perhaps, the most disturbing situation of Bahrain’s juvenile justice system has been used as a political weapon against children. Children who take part in nonviolent protests are often detained on false or inflated accusations. To put pressure on families, the Public Prosecution has been accused of prolonging detentions, filing baseless additional accusations, and postponing trials. All the mistreatment and the abuse inside the juvenile center, for instance, show a systemic tendency rather than being single occurrences.
A political crackdown should never use children as instruments. However, the detention and abuse of the youngest in Bahrain is still a part of a larger effort to silence communities, stifle criticism, and keep power at all costs. Bahrain has a legal system in place to safeguard children. The political will to put it into action is what it lacks. These young people are the ones who will continue to pay the highest price; under a system that purports to protect them, but in reality, does the contrary.
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This post was originally published on Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain.