Maputo, 1 Mar (AIM) – The Mozambican government has approved the proposal ratifying the agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters with Rwanda, a document that had been signed in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, in June 2022.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, at the end of the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), the government spokesperson, Deputy Justice Minister Filimone Suaze, explained that the agreement establishes mechanisms aimed at ensuring the widest possible assistance from one party to the other, in accordance with their provisions and respective domestic legislations.
Suaze further explained that the agreement covers investigation or judicial proceedings in relation to offenses whose applicable measure, at the time of the request for assistance, falls under the competence of the judicial authorities of the requesting party.
At the same session, the Council of Ministers ratified the Extradition Agreement between Mozambique and Rwanda, signed in Kigali in June 2022.
The agreement establishes the cases and conditions for the extradition of those accused by the courts and those convicted of crimes in the respective states and will apply to requests made after its entry into force, even if the crimes were committed before that date.
“If there are citizens of one state who have taken refuge in another, through the ratification of this agreement we will have the appropriate legal conditions to proceed with this extradition”, he said.
Both the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, as well as the Extradition Agreement, will be submitted to the Mozambican Parliament for ratification.
(AIM)
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