Mozambique: Students protest against scholarship agreement breach - Photos
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The Attorney General of Mozambique, Beatriz Buchili, on Monday denounced “attempts to intimidate” magistrates and investigators from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, aimed at discouraging the investigation and fight against organised crime in the country.
“As a result of our actions, we have been registering attempts to intimidate magistrates and investigators in order to discourage them from pursuing their mission”, Beatriz Buchili said today, at the opening of the meeting of the Central Offices for Combating Corruption, Organized Crime and Transnational and Asset Recovery, which runs until June 20, in Maputo.
He stated that prosecutors and other professionals involved in investigating and combating the crimes of terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering, as well as in the recovery of assets in these processes, are suffering threats, highlighting that such acts constitute “an affront to the administration of the Justice and weaken the institutions of Justice”.
“We encourage all magistrates and other colleagues not to be intimidated, to remain firm in fulfilling their mission to combat organized crime”, she said, adding that the Attorney General’s Office will not allow crime to continue taking lives and wasting resources, making national development unfeasible.
She also stated that the fight against organized crime can only be effective through the application of sanctions “with appropriate penalties”, highlighting the need for those convicted to be deprived of illicitly acquired assets, resulting in their loss in favour of the State or the victims.
“We want to praise the progress that the Government has been making in the implementation of the Asset Management Office, through the launch of the Asset Management Portal, which aims to strengthen transparency, efficiency and responsibility in its management and accountability to society”, she added.
Beatriz Buchili also recognized that the Public Prosecutor’s Office faces difficulties in terms of specialized human resources, investigators and financial analysts, as well as insufficient material resources to effectively combat different types of crimes: “There is a need to implement the Asset Recovery Office in provinces, as this body currently works only with focal points and does not have a technical structure to support the pursuit of the duties provided for by law”.
Buchili said that the country is registering the emergence and growth of new criminal phenomena of a complex, organized and transnational nature, which challenge the Public Prosecutor’s Office to improve prevention and combat strategies.
“It is crucial that there is a multi-dimensional approach to dealing with these crimes, which involves not just law enforcement, but the exchange of information and collaboration between countries,” she said.
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