Electronic bracelet system to be introduced by December

Maputo, 4 Sep (AIM) – Mozambican Justice Minister Mateus Saíze has announced that the country will implement by December an electronic bracelet system in order to control the movements of prisoners, and address the prison overcrowding problem.

This move comes at a time when the country’s prisons house over 20,000 inmates while their theoretical capacity is only 8,000.

According to Saíze, who was speaking on Wednesday to inmates during a working visit to a prison in Xai-Xai, capital of the southern province of Gaza, the government will choose a province where the project will be implemented before December.

“We have a cooperation partner who will provide clear instructions on how this works. We believe that the use of electronic bracelets will reduce overcrowding in prisons throughout the country”, he said. Saize did not name the cooperation partner.

Saíze also condemned the unnecessary use of physical violence against prison inmates because “these acts contribute to human rights violations.”

“We must not let this kind of thing happen. When it does, we must investigate and hold accountable those responsible for the violence. The government is very distant from these misbehaviors on the part of police officers. But as I say, it’s not the police command, it’s the behavior of the police themselves that must be prevented”, he said.

Regarding the 1,534 inmates who escaped from the Maputo Central Prison last December, the minister said that “more than half of the imamates have been recaptured. This means that we have recaptured 800 inmates. Others have lost their lives.”

The minister also revealed that this year over a thousand inmates throughout the country will be pardoned and released.
(AIM)
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