Forty-one prisoners in the Republic of Moldova are minors and five of them serve sentences for committing particularly serious crimes, according to the National Administration of Penitentiaries’ data showing the situation in October 1, 2022, IPN reports.

The 41 minors are males. Twenty-six of them serve final sentences, while 15 are waiting for the final verdict.

In accordance with the law, the minors can be taken into the custody of the National Administration of Penitentiaries since the age of 14. When they turn 18, they can remain in the penitentiary for minors to serve the rest of the sentence based on a court decision, until they reach 23.

Six detainees who are in the National Administration of Penitentiaries’ custody are aged 15, which is the youngest age among the juvenile offenders. The minors who got a final sentence serve this in the penitentiary in Goian.

Five minors were convicted for particularly serious crimes, while the others for serious and less serious crimes.

The recidivism rate among the 26 convicted minors is 42.3%. Fifteen minors serve time in jail for the first time, while seven minors are in jail for the second time. Four minors served sentences for more than two times.

The final sentences in the case of concurrence of offenses cannot exceed 12 years and a half for minors.

There are now three juvenile convicts with long jail terms – two minors got 12 years, while one minor was sentenced to ten years and a half behind bars.