The Attorney General of the Republic (PGR), Beatriz Buchilli, revealed today that the justice institutions have convicted six Mozambican citizens of terrorist crimes with sentences of up to 24 years in prison, and three others have been acquitted.

"Terrorism poses a serious threat to the peace, security and values of democratic societies, and to people's fundamental rights and freedoms," Buchili said.

Presenting the annual report in Parliament, she said that 74 cases of terrorist crimes were registered last year, 27 of which involved defendants in pre-trial detention, 16 with defendants at liberty, and 31 against unknown citizens.

Compared to the previous year, 169 cases were registered, which represents an absolute reduction of 92 cases, or 56.2%. Currently, 137 cases are being investigated.

"As you can see, we have registered a considerable number of closed cases, mostly against unknown persons, due to the peculiarity of the type of terrorism that occurs in our country," he noted, explaining that crimes often take place in areas that are difficult to access, which compromises the collection of evidence and the identification of the perpetrators.

She said that the PGR is already working with the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC) and the Defense and Security Forces and training its staff in matters of collecting, processing and analyzing evidence considering the crimes in question.

In this sense, he argues that the best strategies to combat terrorism are to prevent recruitment and financing.