Friday a meeting was held between the Minister of Justice Lucmanne Delile and the Commissioners of the Government of the 18 public prosecutor's offices of the country vis-a-vis the concerns expressed compared to the situation in the prison centers and the risk of contagion and propagation of Covid-19. During this meeting Minister Delile instructed the Government Commissioners to do everything in their power to decongest prisons, especially those in the metropolitan area.

During this meeting he underlined "Highway bandits such as kidnappers and rapists will certainly be kept in prison but the perpetrators of petty thefts, commonly called 'larcins' in Haitian legal jargon, can be released."

Monday following this meeting, Charles Nazaire Noël, Director of Penitentiary Administration said during a joint press conference about preventing the Covid-19 coronavirus in prisons and fighting its spread "Awareness sessions have been held took place in prison centers across the country, installing water stations for hand washing and canceling visits until further notice. ”

For his part, the Government Commissioner of Port-au-Prince Jacques Lafontant presented the measures to relieve the congestion in the prisons of the jurisdiction of Port-au-Prince.

List of criteria :

• 1 - Prisoners of both sexes aged 65 and over with the exception of those serving a life sentence;

• 2 - Prisoners of both sexes suffering from a serious comoborbidity factor declared prior to the Covid-19 pandemic with the exception of those serving a life sentence;

• 3 - Inmates of both sexes awaiting correctional judgment for more than 6 months;

• 4 - Prisoners of both sexes in possession of a referral to trial for crimes with the exception of the crimes of kidnapping, rape of minors and murder whose preventive detention exceeds 2 years firm (4 years for the jurisdiction of P-au-P);

• 5 - Prisoners of both sexes with a correctional judgment removal order;

• 6 - Convicts of both sexes held in excess detention due to the nature of a sentence denominated in forced labor;

• 7 - Convicts of both sexes detained for lack of a trial procedure followed by the prosecution of the prosecution;

• 8 - Convicts of both sexes having served at least 80% of their temporary sentences and who behaved with the exception of the crimes of kidnapping, rape of a minor and murder;

• 9 - Defendants in charge of investigating magistrates for misdemeanors and/or criminal associations.

• 10 - Detainees reputed to have no records, with the exception of the crimes of kidnapping, rape of minors and murder;

• 11- The recovered escapees corresponding to the legal situation of categories 4, 9 and 10.

Read also the report of the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) on the risk of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in prisons in Haiti Download the report (PDF) : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/3-Rap-COVID-19-26Mar2020-1.pdf

HL/ HaitiLibre