The Human Rights Commission of the Mozambican Bar Association (CDHOAM) considers illegal the measures taken by the Government, through the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC), to combat traffic accidents, which have sown mourning and pain in Mozambican families.

In a press release to which we had access, CDHOAM states that the situations announced last week by the MTC are medium and serious contraventions, and therefore are not punishable by immediate imprisonment, nor by the revocation of the offenders' driving licenses, much less by the seizure of the vehicle's documents.

The lawyers argue, moreover, that the Highway Code itself provides for imprisonment from 1 to 3 years and a corresponding fine for a driver whose action causes someone's death, however, the said imprisonment is not immediate, but "ordered in a condemnatory sentence issued by the competent Court".

According to CDHOAM, driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, psychotropic substances, or products with similar effects is punishable under article 230 of the Penal Code.

"Therefore, the immediate arrest for medium and serious contraventions of the Highway Code not only finds no legal framework in the normative provision of the aforementioned Decree No. 1/2011, of March 23, which cannot be changed by mere statement, it also constitutes a violation of the principle of presumption of innocence," reads the statement of the Order.

According to the Bar Association, "the enforcement of the sanctions foreseen in the aforementioned communiqué is likely to violate the fundamental rights and guarantees of citizens.

It should be noted that last week the government announced 14 measures aimed at combating traffic accidents, and one of the measures is the immediate arrest of drivers involved in serious traffic accidents resulting in death.