RIYADH: The government has taken a decision to deport all foreign juveniles for committing drug-related offenses in the Kingdom, with stipulations that they should stand trial in their own countries.

The Supreme Court, based on a request submitted by several judges, had written a letter to the Interior Ministry seeking its approval for the measure, a local publication reported recently.

The Supreme Court had stipulated that the decision does not preclude judges in this country from convicting and sentencing these young offenders, but that these rulings would have to be ratified based on laws in their own countries.

The court also stated that juveniles must not be detained with adult criminals in the country’s prisons but must be held at social shelters. They must also be interrogated in the presence of social workers and psychologists.