FINDINGS
A dual prison system
he Special Rapporteur's delegation carried out visits to three types of places
of detention and cells :
- Prisons under the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and its
National Directorate of Prisons
- Prisons under the Ministry of Home Affairs and its Prison Department
- Police station cells under the Ministry of Home Affairs
T
The establishments under the authority of the Ministry of Justice are central,
provincial and district prisons, penitentiary prisons and open prisons. There are
12 establishments at central and provincial levels, a women's prison in Maputo,
district prisons and 40 open prisons. These prisons accommodate prisoners once
they have been charged until their discharge or the end of their sentence.
Penitentiary prisons are for prisoners serving long-term prison sentences i.e. 2
years or more. Central and provincial prisons arc for prisoners serving sentences
of more than three months. They also have a section for preventive detention.
District prisons are for people serving correctional sentences imposed by district
courts. Open prisons are part of the central and provincial prisons. They are for
prisoners with good behaviour in the final stage of their sentence and the main
activities within the prisons are agriculturally based or animal breeding.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for civil prisons, maximum-security
prisons for so-called dangerous prisoners and police stations. The Ministry has
16 prisons and two open centres plus police station cells at central, provincial
and district levels. One police station in Maputo deals exclusively with young
people and domestic violence. The maximum period for police custody is 24
hours with a possibility to renew it for another 24 hours. The prisons under th is
Ministry are normally located at the provincial level and a few at the district
level. They hold prisoners until they are charged. People arrested can spend up
to a maximum of 3 months on remand for less serious offences. The remand
period is extended to a maximum of one year in the case of persons suspected
of drug-trafficking offences. Maximum-security prisons are for remand and
convicted prisoners considered dangerous. Civil prisons are for less serious
offences such as simple robbery.
6
7