|
|
Mozambique: Assassin Demands Special Meals
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
23 April 2008
Posted to the web 23 April 2008
Maputo
The trial of the six men accused of the attempted murder of lawyer Albano Silva in 1999 was delayed briefly on Wednesday afternoon by a dispute over the prisoners' meals.
At lunchtime the suspects ate prison food - with the exception of Anibal dos Santos Junior ("Anibalzinho"), the country's most notorious assassin, who is already serving a 30 year jail sentence for the murder of Mozambique's foremost investigative journalist, Carlos Cardoso.
As he re-entered the courtroom for the afternoon session, Anibalzinho was shouting at police officers "You've been wanting to kill me for a long time!"
Before judge Dimas Marroa could resume the trial, Anibalzinho's lawyer, simeao Cuamba, declared that his client had not eaten anything, and so the hearing should be suspended.
When the puzzled judge asked Anibalzinho what was going on, he replied "I haven't eaten for two weeks!" (though he certainly does not look half starved).
He held his arm up dramatically and invited Marroa to "look at the mark left by the handcuffs!"
He declared that when prison food is brought to his cell, he does not eat it. "I don't eat beans, or fish", he declared. "I'm afraid of this food".
"We can't stop the trial because of this", retorted Marroa. "It's your decision not to eat".
"No it's not!", shouted Anibalzinho. "The food sent from my house doesn't reach me any more".
With Cuamba insisting that his client be fed, Marroa gave in, and allowed Anibalzinho to feast on the leftovers from the meal provided for the court, the prosecutors and the defence lawyers.
Annoyed policemen told AIM there is a good reason why Anibalzinho cannot receive food from home. His meal privileges were stopped after one meal was found to contain saw blades and other escape equipment hidden beneath the food.
The police point out that Anibalzinho is not being poisoned - he is offered exactly the same food as every other prisoner incarcerated in the cells of the Maputo city police command.
This was the second minor victory for Anibalzinho. In the morning Cuamba complained that Anibalzinho was wearing a black shirt with the word "Recluso" ("Inmate") written on it, while the clothing of the other five accused was plain. (The reason for this is simple - Anibalzinho is held in a different prison from the other five).
Marroa conceded Cuamba's point, and so Anibalzinho was allowed to wear a civilian shirt, while the others remained in their standard prison issue black shirts and trousers.
|
Pf/ (418)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
