Authorities recapture 322 inmates who escaped from central prison

Maputo, 3 Jan (AIM) – The Mozambican Prison Service (SERNAP) on Thursday announced that the authorities have so far recaptured 322 inmates of the 1,534 who escaped from the Maputo Central prison and the adjacent Top Security prison in the Christmas Day riot.

In a statement, the SERNAP admits that over 1,200 inmates who escaped from prison are still on the run, but the authorities are working in order to recapture them. 98 of these inmates escaped from the top security prison.

“These fugitives are considered highly dangerous. SERNAP has so far only managed to recapture 322 inmates”, reads the note.

The document explains that The SERNAP is working in coordination with the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) in order to recapture those who are still on the run.

The document indicates that the group of those who escaped includes 15 defendants accused of kidnapping and five accused of terrorism.

“There are also individuals convicted of murder, aggravated robbery, drug trafficking and other serious offences”, reads the document.

SERNAP also calls on the public to co-operate with the authorities by providing any information that could help in the recapture of the escaped prisoners. To this end, a list was shared with information on some of the inmate.

But the prison record system is woefully inadequate. According to a table published by the office of the SERNAP general director, 82 of the fugitives do not possess complete biographical data – the record contains only the number of their case file, without any other personal or criminal information.

There is also a group of prisoners without fingerprint data. Many of the photographs available are in low resolution, which makes any attempt at visual identification difficult.
(AIM)
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