Mozambique’s overcrowded jails a human rights issue – Minister

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Mozambique’s overcrowded jails a human rights issue – Minister

2:49 CAT | 21 Sep 2016

Voa (File photo)

Mozambique Minister of Justice Isaque Chande has acknowledged the dramatic situation reported by the Mozambican Human Rights League, whose president, Alice Mabota, describes the conditions in which prisoners live in the nation’s overcrowded jails as “appalling”.

Mabota says crime in Mozambique “has been increasing because of the economic crisis facing the country,” and that “people are forced to commit crimes to address the high cost of living”, and, as a result, end up in jail.

Mabota says overcrowding causes food shortages and disease in prisons, and that “almost unfair” rials are so that “we have people in jail who do not know why they are there”.

Minister Chande recognizes the seriousness of the situation, adding that the official capacity of the jails in the country is 8,188 prisoners.

“Right now, we have 17,629 inmates, which corresponds to about 216 percent of capacity,” he says. “This requires of us great effort to ensure that prisoners enjoy even the minimum acceptable conditions.”

Chande says that procedural delays in criminal and civil proceedings exacerbate shortcomings, “and here I believe we should be very concerned, because the fundamental freedoms of the citizen are at stake”.

Source: Voa Portugues