CHILD Commissioner Leda Koursoumba yesterday condemned police behaviour towards a teenager, who was arrested and detained in connection with a property case involving his father.
Koursoumba said the police actions were “unnecessary and unacceptable”, after it emerged they had barged into the 15-year-old’s home, handcuffed him and arrested him, before throwing him in a cell – all for failing to turn up in court to testify in the case.
“The police can’t treat a child – especially a motherless one – in the same way an adult would be treated,” she said. “They can’t barge into his home at 6.30 in the morning when he is preparing to go to school, handcuff him and violate his dignity.”
Koursoumba said such cases should be accompanied with respect towards treaties for children’s rights.
“Alongside the police investigation, another investigation should be carried out by independent bodies to show exactly what happened and to avert similar phenomena in the future,” she said.
Meanwhile, the teen’s headmistress – who refused police access to the 15-year-old when they arrived at the school and demanded to arrest him on a previous occasion – was yesterday praised by Education Minister Andreas Demetriou for her actions.
“The school’s headmistress handled the matter correctly and showed the necessary sensitivity that pupils should be treated with,” he said. “The police don’t have to exhaust all severity and implement the law so strictly when it comes to underage children. They need to take the children’s sensitivities and weaknesses into consideration.”
But Police Spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said that at first view, the police acted according to regulations.
“The court orders are clear,” he said. “It ordered the 15-year-old’s remand to ensure that he testified in the afternoon.”
Katsounotos added that the police were forced to handcuff the teen as he had reacted badly to the arrest.
He confirmed the 15-year-old had been led to a cell and had to endure a body search, as is standard procedure. He also maintained that the police had never intended to arrest the teen when they went to his school; they just wanted to inform the headmistress on what was going on.
