Mozambique: More than 200 prisoners held beyond release dates in Zambézia penitentiary

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Mozambique: More than 200 prisoners held beyond release dates in Zambézia penitentiary

12:15 CAT | 21 Sep 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Estabelecimento Penitenciário Provincial da Zambézia/Facebook]

A total of 209 detainees have expired their pre-trial detention periods at the Zambézia Penitentiary in the centre of Mozambique, an official source announced on Wednesday.

Keeping prisoners on remand has almost tripled the number of people in the prison, which has 790 detainees out of the 270 it was supposed to hold, according to Álvaro Arnança, director of the Zambézia penitentiary, quoted today by the daily newspaper Notícias.

He pointed to the delay in processing the detainees’ cases as one of the causes of the phenomenon of overdue pre-trial detentions, noting, however, that there has been no shortage of food due to overcrowding.

According to Laura de Couto, a delegate from the Zambézia Institute for Sponsorship and Legal Assistance (IPAJ), prisoners are often held beyond the allotted time in the province, adding that IPAJ is currently dealing with more than 50 cases.

“There are prisoners who have served their sentence, but getting out is a problem. It’s normal to spend a month [in jail, even] after the release order,” complained one of the detainees.

Mozambique currently has almost 160 prisons, including regional, provincial and district prisons, which face a problem of overcrowding.

In July, the Mozambican government announced the construction of at least 10 new prisons in the country and the rehabilitation of some open centres in an advanced state of disrepair.

Mozambican prisons are struggling with overcrowding, housing around 21,000 prisoners against an installed capacity of 4,498 people, according to the most recent figures from the ministry of justice released in 2020.

Source: Lusa