In a letter dated November 8, the Minister of Justice, Ousmane Diagne, invited prosecutors to rationalize the issuance of committal warrants. The objective pursued by the Minister of Justice, according to L'AS, which read his letter stamped “Confidential”, is to curb prison overcrowding.
The newspaper reports that Ousmane Diagne recalled in his letter that “prisons have long since reached capacity“. He gave two eloquent examples: Rebeuss had, as of September 10, 3,257 prisoners for 1,800 places and the Thiès Prison and Correctional Facility had 1,223 inmates (October 16), i.e. an excess of 591 prisoners compared to what was planned.
The minister added:that the accommodation difficulties linked to prison overcrowding currently prevail in all penitentiary establishments in the country“. Consequence: “Ousmane Diagne believes that it has become almost impossible [pour le Sénégal] to comply with legal requirements and international standards established in terms of good detention conditions», relays L’AS.
To allow the country to stay on track, the same source states, the Minister of Justice asks the general prosecutors near the Courts of Appeal, the public prosecutors near the High Courts and the prosecutor's delegates near the Courts of Appeal. authority to issue the committal warrant only when it turns out to be “strictly essential“, to make “exceptional use».
In his circular, Ousmane Diagne listed the criminal offenses for which the committal warrant should not be preferred, “when the accused person presents guarantees of representation in court and when the facts with which he is accused are not particularly serious», adds L'AS: possession and use of Indian hemp, violence and assault, misappropriation of seized objects, simple theft, irregular presence at the port, clandestine boarding, among others.
The same instructions are sent for the treatment of financial offenses such as fraud, breach of trust and misappropriation of loans granted or guaranteed by the State as long as the damage is not significant. “When the damage is greater, you will favor criminal mediation, if the conditions for this method of settlement are met,” specifies the Minister of Justice.
Ousmane Diagne revealed, according to L'AS, that between September 20 and 30, 461 committal warrants were issued and that all the defendants concerned were referred to Rebeuss, which is already overflowing. The Minister of Justice noted that the investigating judges are the authors of most of these measures.
