The Appeals Court in Makkah has upheld the jail terms for three Asian juveniles found guilty of stealing and pick-pocketing near the Grand Mosque in Makkah and between the Mas'a area between Safa and Marwah hillocks. The sentences were initially awarded by the Jeddah Court which found the three guilty of targeting Umrah pilgrims in the vicinity of the Grand Mosque and stealing their valuables. Two of the culprits were given a jail term of two years while the third escaped with only a year behind bars, according to the sources. The three were arrested separately and some of the stolen goods were recovered from them, sources added. The Appeals Court in Makkah ordered the authorities to carry out the sentences, the sources said. Meanwhile, the Juvenile Court is still looking into five murders allegedly committed by teenagers, according to sources. The last case involved a boy working in a Makkah hotel who allegedly killed a youth in his neighborhood for harassing him, sources said. The five teens are being held at a correction facility, sources added. Court officials are also looking into the cases of six juveniles accused of stealing, pick-pocketing and committing assault within the vicinity of the Haram, according to sources. Stealing and pick-pocketing form about 70 percent of juvenile crimes, with most of the others involving delinquency and drug abuse, according to officials. Legal experts and other specialists are demanding that if the criminal offenses are not serious, jail sentences should be replaced with alternative penalties. They are also calling for laws permitting deportation of foreign juveniles who have been convicted of crimes, according to a system that would have them serve their jail terms in their home countries. __
