Zimbabwe releases prisoners in amnesty, reducing overcrowding

Zimbabwe has begun releasing more than 4,000 prisoners under a presidential amnesty that authorities say will help ease congestion in some overcrowded jails.
About 800 prisoners were released Friday from the Central Prison and Chikurubi Maximum Prison in the capital, Harare. Jails in other parts of the country began releasing prisoners who qualified for the amnesty on Thursday, said Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services spokeswoman Meya Khanyezi.
She said the amnesty would “go a long way in reducing the prison population.” Zimbabwe’s prisons have a capacity of 17,000 but hold more than 20,000 inmates.
Former prisoners have in the past complained about overcrowding and other harsh conditions such as a lack of food and proper health care. Amnesty International has previously described the conditions as “deplorable.” The southern African nation of 15 million people regularly uses the presidential amnesty to decongest prisons.
A beneficiary of the latest amnesty, John Mafararikwa, who was serving a 17-month sentence for theft, expressed relief.