WMLDYS Welcomes High Court Decision on Curfews

2.15.04pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 22nd Jul 2005

West Midlands Liberal Democrat Youth & Students (WMLDYS) Vice Chair Adam Nazir Ahmed Teladia today congratulated the 15-year-old young man who successfully challenged the legality of child curfews at the High Court. Speaking on Wednesday after the High Court decision Adam said, "I congratulate this young man for his bravery in standing up for what is right."

The teenager proved that the child curfews which allowed police to escort teenagers home after 9pm even if they had done nothing wrong were a breach of young people's human rights.

Responding to the verdict Adam said: "This successful challenge is a victory for all young people and let it serve as a warning to policy makers who think they can get away with treating all teenagers as yobs.

"Young people respond to how they are treated. If they are respected then they will in turn be respectful. If they are treated by the government and the police as guilty unless proven innocent, then they will only become more alienated."

"Anti-social behaviour is a problem that must be tackled. People do have genuine concerns about young people hanging around on the streets, but this must be dealt with by better provision of youth services, not punitive action. A teenager walking home is not anti-social behaviour."