A group of civil society organizations issued a statement condemning the "massacre" of inmates who had escaped from the maximum security central jail, known as the BO.

In a document made public, the organizations state that "it is the responsibility of the state to guarantee the safety, physical and moral integrity of prisoners", and that they therefore consider it "unacceptable for the authorities to carry out acts that compromise the human dignity of prisoners".

Also in the same Success TVin Maputo, civil society is demanding an investigation into the motives behind the escape of inmates from the central jail in Maputo.

For the civil society organizations, "the Minister of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs, the Minister of the Interior, the general commander of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) and the director of the National Prison Service should take the consequences and make their posts available in honour and respect for the universal declaration of human rights".

Last Saturday (28), the Deputy Minister of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs, Filimão Suaze, said after visiting the prisons in Maputo that at least 280 inmates had already been recaptured, out of a total of 1,534 who had escaped from Maputo's prisons, revealing that a commission of inquiry had been set up to investigate the case.

(Photo DR)