A court in Inhambane province in southern Mozambique has sentenced four Mozambican police officers to two years in prison for torturing a couple suspected of stealing various materials.
“The sentence of imprisonment imposed on each of the accused shall (…) be suspended after execution for a period of five years without the accused having committed any intentional offence that would entail imprisonment,” Judge David Foloko said, quoted by the media this Thursday.
The alleged torture to extract a confession took place in May and was made public through a video that was shared on social media, leading to media coverage and a lawsuit.
Of the five agents arrested in June at the request of the prosecutor’s office, one was acquitted because her involvement in the crime was “insufficient.”
The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) must also pay the couple compensation totalling 100,000 meticais (just over a thousand euros), the judge ruled.
In June, the FRM provincial command announced the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the agents, the outcome of which is still unknown.
“And this procedure, in addition to their own removal, will lead to measures that could reach expulsion,” Feliciano Chongo, the FRM commander in Inhambane, said at the time.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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