Prison work and duty
Work is not compulsor y. However, in Mabalane the young prisoneis complained
that they were forced to work and that their food ration was reduced if they
refused.
Prisoners are not paid for their work. However in Mabalane, the officers reported
that the prison used the money earned to deposit hail of those who were eligible
for conditional release.
Prisoners do not work on Sundays.
It is the prisoners' duty to clean their clothes, cells and prison facilities in general
If they refuse to comply with this obligation, they can be sent to a disciplinary
cell for up to 15 days (Maputo Central Prison).
Open air and restrictions
Rules vary, depending on the circumstances of each establishment, its population,
and the number of guards, the security conditions and the internal organisation.
In many places, depending on the size of the prison, one or more prisoners
supervise discipline and order. The only official punishment is the disciplinary
cell. However, some prisoners at Maputo Civil Prison complained that conditions
in the disciplinary cell were far worse than in other cells. It was overcrowded.
They had no bedding and no access to water for bathing. They lacked medical
care. They also complained that they were sometimes beaten up and thrown in
a dirty water tank.
Prisoners are put in disciplinary cells when they have int
the prison rules.
Their rights to visits and to food from outside are somcuuics testricted but not
the food ration provided by the prison (Maputo Civil Prison, Tete Maximum
Security Prison). Bathing is normally al lowed every day provided there is water.
Prisoners can be confined from one day up to 30 days in disciplinary cells.
Disciplinary measures can also consist of transferring a prisoner to another
prison where the conditions are harsher. Tete Maximum Security Prison, for
instance, held 4 prisoners from Tete Provincial Prison as a disciplinary rneastue.
These prisoners do not go out except when they receive visits.
In Maputo Civil Prison, prisoners are allowed outside from 09.30 to 11.30 every
day, from 06.00 to 17.30 in Maputo Central Prison, and from 08.30 to 16.30
every day except weekends in Machava Maximum Security Prison (prisoners
are locked in cells at 23.00).
In Tete Maximum Security Prison, the lack of minimal conditions of security
means that while officers report that prisoners go out from 08.00 to 12.00 and
14.00 to 16.00, prisoners say they go out only for one hour, and not every day.
Disciplinary cases never go out except when they i ecen< family visits.
In Tete Provincial Prison, prisoners are outside from os 10 to 16.00 when they
are all locked up. At 21.00, those sleeping outside we unlocked.
In Moatize, prisoners are theoretically locked up at night but the women's cell
does not have a lock.
Rules discipline Ind punishment
In Maputo Central Prison, prisoners in the disciplinary cell complained that they
could not go out. They only received water in the morning. Some of them had
been in the cell for 2 months. They complained they were forced to labour in the
farmland. They also complained of being beaten at night. Many of them had
been attested in the course of the police operation to curb delinquency.
The officers reported numerous escapes and escape attempts. Some ended up in
prisoners' deaths or injuries (Maputo Civil Prison, Tete Maximum Security
Prison). Some prisoners had also tried to escape from hospital.
The delegation noticed that at Machava Maximum Security Prison, at least five
prisoners were held in complete isolation, with many armed guards looking after
them. They were locked up all day except for a few minutes when they were
allowed outside in handcuffs. The officers explained that they were dangei °us
prisoners and the safety device was to avoid communication with others and
interference in the course of the ongoing inquiry.
Prison rules are nom rallc explained to each newcomer. The UN DP study shows
that 51% of the pnsoners are int ormed about their rights by fellow prisoners, 39%
by the prison administration, 3% by the Attorney General's Office and 3% by
NGOs. However, 64% of prisoners say that have not been informed about their
rights.
15
Comphint mechanisms
Then. Is a complaint mechanism provided for by the prisons' rules. The Office
of the Attorney General is also open to complaints from any citizen.
Lawyers can also complain about the conduct of any institution that breaches
the law.
19
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