Alternatives to custodial sentences and pre-trial detention

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Published: March 18, 2024

In cooperation with the Mauritanian Ministry of Justice IRZ organised a training course on "Alternatives to custodial sentences and pre-trial detention" in Nouakchott, Mauritania, on 6 and 7 December 2023. The event was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Justice and the penitentiary authority as well as judges and public prosecutors from the higher courts in Nouakchott.

The participants listened very attentively to the presentations by Pascal Décarpes, EU criminal law expert, and Petra Meyer, public prosecutor and legal officer in the Criminal Law Division of the Federal Ministry of Justice, and subsequently discussed the topics in depth and quite controversially. The challenges of practical implementation and the necessary support structures, such as probation services, played a major role. Although alternatives to custodial sentences are enshrined in law in Mauritania, they are rarely used in practice.

In the area of criminal justice, IRZ has already implemented a large number of projects in various partner countries. Mauritania has been a new partner state of IRZ since 2023, which is why the topic is also becoming increasingly important as a field of cooperation.