Mozambique’s Ministry of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs announced on Wednesday that the country will introduce non-custodial sentences from 2021, a measure that will significantly impact on the management of prisoners in the southeast African country.
The announcement was made by the deputy minister Filimao Suaze, who spoke to the press at the opening of a forum on the implementation of alternative sentences to prison, in Maputo.
“It is very important that we prepare ourselves so that we can see the prisoners providing services in the communities, in various dimensions, whether in cleaning the roads, schools or participating in a public construction project,” Suaze told reporters.
Suaze said that the correct and faithful application of alternatives sentences can make a contribution to the recovery of the condemned, in harmony and in social peace, as well as to the management of the prison system, which would be relieved of the chronic problem of overcrowding.
“It is imperative that each of the actors be aware of their responsibilities so that they can act in a systematic, synchronized and harmonious way, but on the other hand continue to raise the awareness of communities about the importance of ‘non-custodial sentences’,” he said.
The event took place under the motto “Creating bases for institutional cooperation in the execution of non-custodial sentences”, bringing together government representatives, directors of penitentiary establishments and judicial magistrates.
