The Civil Society Organization for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights "Justice and Solidarity" (JS) condemns the high rate of prolonged preventive detention [arbitrary and illegal in its duration] in Haiti (prisoner who has never been tried) which exceeds 83% and regretted that freedom in the country is an exception to the rule.

The Human Rights Organization has strongly criticized allegations of corruption in trial courts and among some actors in the judiciary.

According to Justice and Solidarity, if the litigants do not have the money to offer upstream payments, or if their case has not been publicized, "they will rot in prison while awaiting a criminal trial with or without the assistance of 'a jury.é

In addition, they denounced that certain Government Commissioners send detainees before investigating judges who order provisional release even when this is not provided for by law, and many of these cases are then not followed up by effect.

"It is corruption that plagues most of our courts and prosecution offices," the organization said.

At the beginning of December, the head of the Directorate of Penitentiary Administration revealed that of the 11,718 detainees, only 1,935 (16.5%) had been tried and sentenced by a judge and that the others often had to wait years to plead their case, while some cannot even afford a lawyer.

The situation has caused prison overcrowding in the country's prisons, which operate at more than four times their capacity, in addition to the lack of food and medical care https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38081-haiti-justice-worsening-of-detention-conditions-in-haiti.html

In 2018 according to a ranking of the "World Prison Brief" Haiti occupied first place, out of 205 countries, of the most overcrowded prisons in the world https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23478-haiti-flash-haiti-world-champion-of-prison-overcrowding.html

In November 2022, the Group of Lawyers for the Defense of Human Rights denounced that the detainees had a living space of only 0.60 m2 in the cells, while the international standard is 4.5 m2.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-38081-haiti-justice-worsening-of-detention-conditions-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34148-haiti-flash-the-hell-of-haitian-prisons-report.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33408-haiti-justice-detainees-in-haiti-at-the-gates-of-hell.html

HL/ HaitiLibre