2 June 2011
Maputo — The introduction of alternative penalties to imprisonment could reduce Mozambique’s prison population dramatically, and thus help solve the problem of overcrowding in the jails.
According to data presented at a meeting of the Coordinating Council of the National Prisons Service (SNAPRI), currently under way in Maputo, more than 50 per cent of the inmates serving sentences in the country’s prison were found guilty of crimes that carry no more than a two year jail term.
Since these people are not regarded as posing a threat to society, once a law on alternatives to prison is passed by the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, they could be released.
The rest of their sentences could then be converted into community service in hospitals, building or cleaning work, or other socially useful activities.
The bill on alternatives to prison for those found guilty of minor offences has been drafted by the government’s Legal Reform Technical Unit (UTREL), and is expected to be approved shortly by the Council of Ministers (Cabinet). It will then be sent to the Assembly, and once passed there will take effect 180 days later.
Currently Mozambican prisons have about 15,000 inmates. Health conditions are precarious, and in many cases the prisoners only receive one meal a day. Releasing half the prisoners would automatically improve conditions for the other half, and would provide substantial savings for the state budget.
Other proposals, in the context of a general revision of the Mozambican Penal Code, would extend the alternative penalties to those sentenced to less than eight years imprisonment for non-violent offences.
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