The Minister of Justice, Ousmane Diagne, sent, on November 8, a circular placed under the seal of confidentiality to all Attorneys General at the courts of appeal, public prosecutors at the high courts, and the prosecutor's delegates to the district courts, to ask them to rationalize the issuance of committal warrants. This is a way for the chancellery to deal with overcrowding in prison establishments.
Senegalese prisons are in critical condition. They face disproportionate overcrowding. This is why the judicial authorities have decided to act to curb this scourge.
In a confidential circular addressed to members of the public prosecutor's office and of which “L'AS” has a copy, the Minister of Justice indicates that penitentiary establishments have long reached their reception capacity.
For example, he points out, as of September 10, 2024, the Rebeuss Prison had 3,257 inmates with a capacity of 1,800 residents. As of October 16, 2024, he adds, the daily number of detainees incarcerated at the Thiès Arrest and Correction House (MAC) was 1,223 detainees, i.e. an excess of 591 detainees compared to its capacity. reception. Thus, Minister Ousmane Diagne believes that accommodation difficulties linked to prison overcrowding currently prevail in all penitentiary establishments in the country.
Continuing, the Minister of Justice maintains that the overcrowding of these places of detention requires the judicial authorities to make a real change in practice and even policy in the handling of criminal cases, particularly with regard to the use of committal warrants. The proof, he underlines, during the period from September 20 to 30, 2024, 461 committal warrants, all in the direction of the Rebeuss Prison, were recorded. It should also be noted that the majority of these mandates come from investigating judges, he adds. Nationally, it is noted that prison establishments had 14,513 residents as of October 21, 2024. In view of this situation, Minister Ousmane Diagne believes that it has become almost impossible to comply with legal requirements and international standards established in terms of good detention conditions. In addition, he said, this prison overcrowding raises real difficulties in food and health care. And that in this context, any placement under a deposit mandate must be strictly essential.
CIRCULAR CONTOURS
This being said, Minister Ousmane Diagne calls for a better rationalization of this detention title, to make exceptional use of it from now on. According to him, this will be the case when the person being prosecuted presents guarantees of representation in court and when the facts with which he is accused are not particularly serious, in particular for the following offenses: “possession and use of Indian hemp; willful assault and battery (by ensuring, if necessary, that the person being prosecuted has undertaken to move away from the victim's place of residence until the hearing to ward off any repetition of the facts or to avoid reprisals); violence and assault; threats of violence and assault; illegal occupation of land; concealment of thing; involuntary manslaughter (when the circumstances of the case do not reveal related offenses which indicate notorious misconduct and serious violation of the traffic rules of the perpetrator such as, for example, drunk driving); diversion of seized objects; irregular presence at port; clandestine boarding; simple theft or theft to the detriment of the employer without other aggravating circumstances once the complainant has withdrawn; and any other offense you deem relevant.”
Still according to the Keeper of the Seals, the same dynamic of rationalization of the deposit warrant must be observed for financial offenses such as fraud, breach of trust and misappropriation of loans granted or guaranteed by the State from when the damage is not significant. “When the damage is more significant, you will favor criminal mediation if the conditions for this method of settlement are met,” he indicated to the members of the prosecution.
Mr. Diagne also urged the members of the park, for information files, to ensure that requisitions are limited for the purposes of placement under a committal warrant since provisional release or placement under judicial supervision would not be likely to cause a real and serious risk of disturbing public order.
Ultimately, he asked the members of the prosecution to inform him of any difficulties encountered in the implementation of the circular.
