Contrary to initial claims by the Mozambican police, Aníbal António dos Santos Junior, "Anibalzinho", the convicted killer of journalist Carlos Cardoso, was not recaptured after escaping from prison for the third time on 7 December 2008 and is still on the run.
"We are puzzled and worried," Reporters Without Borders said. "How can a convict of this kind escape three times? Anibalzinho must be recaptured quickly and made to complete his sentence, and those who helped him to escape must be identified and punished."
Several prison guards reportedly helped Anibalzinho and two other inmates escape from a Maputo prison on the morning of 7 December. He escaped for the first time in September 2002, and was captured in the South African capital of Pretoria five months later. He escaped again on 10 May 2002, only to be caught by Interpol on arrival at Toronto international airport.
Convicted on 20 January 2006 of being the leader of the hit squad that murdered Cardoso in 2000, Anibalzinho was sentenced to 30 years in jail.
Updates the Cardoso case: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/99202
Source: IFEX
