HRCM urges state to refrain from prosecuting children coerced into crime

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has noted the increase of child participation in serious crimes, stating that children coerced or forced into committing such crimes should not be prosecuted.

“It has come to our notice that children are taking part in serious crimes of late. As children are persons who are sometimes unable to reflect on their situations and judge wrong from right, the number of children who realise they are committing a crime will be few,” the commission said.

The HRCM described it as “unacceptable that some adults are coercing children to commit crimes so that they can remain safely in the background and free of legal repercussions while it is the children who are prosecuted for these crimes.”