Africa-Press – Angola. Angola has registered a significant reduction in cases of excessive Remand Detention, from 3,000 to 1,200, between December 2024 and November of this year.
The data was revealed to the press on Wednesday in Luanda by the advisor to the criminal chamber of the Supreme Court (TS), Alves René, at the XXIII ordinary meeting of the Ad Hoc Commission for the Analysis of Excessive Preventive Detention, which reviewed the activities developed throughout 2025.
Alves René, who is also the secretary of the Ad Hoc Commission, informed that Luanda, the country’s capital, concentrates more than 68% of cases of excessive preventive detention, due to having the largest volume of cases and the highest concentration of judicial activity.
According to him, most cases of excessive cases are in the preparatory investigation phase, and only 14% reach the judicial phase.
He explained that the reasons for the still high number of cases are related to the low number of judicial magistrates and public prosecutors, the lack of staff and technicians at the Attorney General’s Office, overcrowding in the country’s penitentiary establishments, among others.
The magistrate noted that the lack of influence of lawyers also contributes to the excessive use of pretrial detention, recalling that the law requires the assistance of prisoners by lawyers in all phases of the process and, in the absence of financial resources, defendants can resort to the assistance of the Bar Association (OAA).
The meeting was chaired by Supreme Court judge Daniel Modesto Geraldes, with the participation of representatives from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights (MINJUDH), the Ombudsman’s Office, the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), judges, presiding judges, both in-person and remote formats.
Angola’s prison population is approximately 28,000 detainees, of whom more than 14,000 are in pre-trial detention and about 13,000 have already been convicted.
Judge Domingos Mesquita takes over leadership of the Supreme Court
Domingos Mesquita is the new chief justice of the criminal chamber of the Supreme Court (TS), replacing Judge Daniel Modesto Geraldes. The judge also began to preside over the meetings of the Ad Hoc Commission for the Analysis of Excessive Pre-trial Detention.
The Ad Hoc Commission for the Analysis of Excessive Pre-trial Detention was created in December 2020, with the objective of analyzing and combating cases of excessive pre-trial detention in the country, promoting respect for human rights and the speed of judicial processes. It is chaired by the Supreme Court and composed of other judicial bodies.
Source: ANGOP
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