We are currently witnessing countless Sudanese minors being tried as adults in Greece. At their age, a prison sentence has unimaginable consequences for their entire life course. This injustice stems from several key issues. Let’s look into the different issues.
1) Lack of Documents & Fictitious Birthdates
People fleeing war and persecution often arrive without official documents. Birth certificates may have been left behind, never existed, or were lost or confiscated during their journey. Authorities then assign a fictitious birthdate upon arrival, which often results in minors being classified as adults. This date becomes especially hard to contest in court when it’s supported by so-called “medical” age assessments.
2) Problematic “Medical” Age Assessments
These assessments use forensic methods like X-rays of wrist bones and teeth to categorize skeletal maturity. Besides potential health risks, these methods are widely criticized:
- They rely on outdated data from 1930s British growth studies as a universal standard.
- They ignore that bones develop differently depending on socio-economic status, diet, and geography.
Applying these methods to Sudanese boys who have survived war, displacement, and often forced labor or torture guarantees inaccurate results, systematically aging them. Yet, their results continue to go unquestioned in court.
„From my observation it’s a bit arbitrary… sometimes they don’t accept original birth certificates as true. Especially, if you have to “fight” a doctors examination.“
Ilianna Vrontaki, Lawyer in Chania, Crete
3) Dismissal of Documents & Context
Even when birth certificates are obtained and submitted, they are often dismissed in favor of the “medical” assessment. From regions like El Fasher, obtaining original documents from the administration is currently impossible. Contacting people who are still there may also prove difficult. This dismissal shows a profound ignorance of the situation in Sudan and the context from which the defendants come.
4) Arbitrary Rejection over Latin versus Arabic Name Spelling
Furthermore, translations of official certificates are rejected if the names differ slightly from court records. However, there is no single way to transliterate an Arabic name into the مُحَمَّد Latin alphabet. For example, could be spelled in several ways, such as Mohammed, Mohamad, Mohamed, or Muhamad. The transliterations used by the court are typically written by border officials upon arrival and therefore often incorrect
5) Arbitrariness and Racism
In the trials of the past months, we have repeatedly witnessed arbitrary decisions regarding the acceptance of minor status. The same judicial bench would decide in one case, to accept an original birth certificate even in Arabic, and reject the next one with an English translation included. Several times, we have seen the judicial bench acknowledging that the defendants looked exceptionally young, but instead of questioning the problematic age assessments, only handing out sentences slightly shorter than those of others. It is shameful to see that the courts betray justice by dismissing evidence, ignoring context, and forgetting that doubt protects the innocent.
Minors should not be trialed in an adult court, receiving up to life-long sentences. They should not be held in an adult prison, deprived of their liberty and opportunity at youth and life. They deserve protection and care just like anyone else, but especially given the circumstances they have already endured and escaped.
It is unbelievable to see a judge and prosecutor, most likely with children of the same age, so lightheartedly make such life-altering decisions, often within minutes, while looking into the eyes of these undeniably young boys. It cannot be called anything else but racism.
They are depriving racialised boys their right to be a child and their innocence. Through their actions, they are cementing a white supremacist system and undermining all claim to serve justice. We cannot accept this.
Free the boys! Free them all!