Haiti is ranked as the worst country for the most overcrowded prisons in the world, according to information released by World Prison Brief (WPB).
Topped 200 countries
According to the London-based publication at the end of January, the country topped the 205 countries surveyed for the most overcrowded prisons in the world, followed by the Philippines and El Salvador.
In June 2016, the 17 Haitian prisons in the country, had an average occupancy rate of 454 per cent and the space per detainee was a little less than 0.5 m2, far of the international standard which is 4.5 m2.
The prison population in Haiti was estimated at 10,500 prisoners or 96 out of 100,000 inhabitants.
Most prisoners in pre-trial detention
The overcrowding is causing many human violations, health problems, spread of diseases, malnutrition and violence. Seventy-two per cent of the prisoners were in pre-trial detention without having been tried. The average length of pre-trial detention is 1,100 days according to a study released here in December 2016.
Last year, Gustavo Gallón, the Independent Expert of the UN Human Rights Council, spoke of the markedly insufficient progress made in the case of prolonged detention.
“On average, more than 70 per cent of those detained in Haiti continue to be held in prolonged detention. The situation in the Port-au-Prince National Penitentiary has worsened dramatically: the average length of pre-trial detention increased from 624 days to 1,100 days (or 3 years), according to a study by the Minustah in December 2016.
He said if the situation of prolonged detainees were resolved, there would be no overcrowding in Haitian prisons.
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