A teenager was placed in Luxembourg's adult prison, in Schrassig, in January, because the secure unit for young people was not adapted to the specific needs of the minor Shutterstock

A teenager was placed in Luxembourg's adult prison, in Schrassig, in January, because the secure unit for young people was not adapted to the specific needs of the minor Shutterstock

According to a statement from the prosecutor on 24 January, the teenager was placed in Schrassig prison because the “situation at the UNISEC [Unité de sécurité] had become untenable, as much for the professionals and detainees of this institution as for the minor.”

The measure was taken because the UNISEC was not adapted to the specific needs of the minor and “a search for an appropriate institution abroad had not been successful.”

The government is currently working on a new law ensuring that in future no child is placed in an adult penitentiary, justice minister Sam Tanson (déi Gréng) said, responding to a joint parliamentary question published on Thursday from Gilles Roth and Laurent Mosar (CSV). The draft law is expected to be tabled in 2021.

Currently such a decision is permitted if in the interest of the child. However, “I believe that […] it would never be in the interest of a minor to be held in such a structure, which is completely unsuited to a child’s particular needs.”

Tanson said the circumstances were exceptional, without going into details related to the minor, adding that further efforts were being made with the education and health ministries to find a solution.