By MOZTIMES
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – Italian citizen Humberto Sartoni was found dead on Friday at the Machava Special Top Security Penitentiary, where he had been held for about a month on suspicion of involvement in money laundering, tax fraud, forgery and other illicit activities.
According to a statement issued by the National Prison Service (SERNAP), Sartoni was found “collapsed on the floor, apparently without life” at around 08:30 local time, during the changing of the prison guards assigned to the maximum security facility, commonly known as the BO.
His death comes just 24 days after Sartoni’s arrest on 21 April in connection with a case involving alleged crimes of using forged documents, tax fraud and money laundering.
SERNAP also stated that Sartoni had voluntarily refused to eat since his arrival at the Machava maximum security prison, adding that this apparent hunger strike had been “immediately communicated to the family, lawyer and family doctor”.
The authorities have not yet disclosed the cause of death. SERNAP, however, said that the necessary follow-up procedures would be carried out in order to “establish the real circumstances of his death”.
Mozambique has been stepping up measures to combat financial crime and money laundering under pressure from international partners and financial oversight bodies to strengthen transparency mechanisms, banking supervision and controls over illicit financial flows.
The death of a suspect in financial crimes at the country’s main top security prison is likely to raise fresh questions about inmate monitoring, medical assistance in prisons and the management of detainees involved in sensitive or high-profile cases. (MT)
