TEHRAN -- Director of the country's Prisons Organization, Seyed Morteza Bakhtiyari, said that in order to better manage prisoners and to put more emphasis on their rehabilitation, prisoners under the age of 18 will be separated from other prisoners, and will be incarcerated in special rehabilitation centers. "All of our country's provinces have benefited from rehabilitation centers, and by the end of the current year 12 rehabilitation centers are going to be established in cities such as Khorramabad."

He stressed that convicted minors must be sentenced according to laws specifically designed for their special conditions and age.

Referring to the issue of separating the prisoners under the age of 18 as a useful step in rehabilitating prisoners, he said that the most important issue -- which must be taken into consideration in the prison system -- is rehabilitating behavioral problems, and not reinforcing problems and destructive behaviors.

Bakhtiyari mentioned religious belief as the main solution in preventing crime in the society generally, and among the youth and young adults, in particular. "There is no way to effectively confront crime, but by strengthening faith and through personal behavior control by the individual's internal forces and motivations."