(San Juan) A non-profit organization on Tuesday called on the Haitian government to release some detainees as the prison system faces a rapid increase in cholera cases in the country, which is also affected by a decrease in drinking water supplies. .
Posted at 7:39 p.m.
The organization Health through Walls, which provides medical care to prisoners in Haiti, noted that not only inmates are at risk, but also security guards, kitchen workers and healthcare personnel.
“Immediate action is needed to prevent more preventable deaths in prisons,” the body said. The situation has never been so serious”.
This appeal to the government comes as Haiti remains largely paralyzed by gangs and anti-government protesters, leading to severe shortages of fuel, water and other basic supplies, and the government calls for the immediate intervention of foreign troops. .
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday that the government was reviewing Haiti’s request for assistance in coordination with international partners.
“We strongly condemn all those who obstruct the fair and immediate distribution of much-needed humanitarian supplies,” he said. This is a status quo that cannot persist, and we will continue to work and discuss with international partners on ways to facilitate the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to the people of Haiti, including essential medical support. to deal with the cholera epidemic.
Haiti has reported several cholera deaths and more than 100 suspected cases after announcing the first reported cholera deaths in three years last week. Since then, the number of cases has continued to grow, especially in prisons.
Medical staff working at the national penitentiary in Port-au-Prince, which is Haiti’s largest prison with more than 4,000 inmates, reported at least 20 deaths, 5 confirmed cases and 200 other cases of acute diarrhea in just one week , raised the co-founder of the non-profit organization, Michelle Karshan.
Cholera bacteria spread easily and can cause severe diarrhea and dehydration that can be fatal.
Haiti’s 20 prisons hold approximately 11,000 inmates, and medical professionals are extremely concerned given that the occupancy rate in the country’s four main prisons exceeds 400%. In addition, detainees have long faced severe shortages of food, water and medical care, according to a recent United Nations report.
This year alone, more than 180 inmates have died of severe malnutrition, according to a letter from the UN secretary-general that has not been made public but was shared with The Associated Press on Sunday.
The UN also noted in its report that there is only one doctor for more than 1,000 detainees and that drug deliveries are “sparse and limited”.
“Detainees are entirely dependent on the care provided by charities,” the report said.
Health Through Walls has asked the Haitian Minister of Justice to release seriously ill, malnourished detainees or those who have served their sentence but failed to appear in court, among others.
“Pretrial detention continues to fill prisons and creates additional stress in the justice system at this time of crisis where basic needs cannot be met,” the body said.
More than 83% of detainees have not yet been tried, with some waiting nearly ten years before their first court appearance, according to the UN report.
Spokesman for the Minister of Justice, Berto Dorcé, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The nonprofit’s request comes just days after UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed in a letter to the Security Council that Haiti’s prison system needs improvement, “given alarming prison overcrowding”.
The latest cholera outbreak in Haiti killed nearly 10,000 people. It began more than a decade ago after UN peacekeepers introduced the bacteria into the country’s largest river through sewage runoff from their base.
Among those who died was the director of Haiti’s national penitentiary, recalled Mr.me Karshan.
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In collaboration with Matthew Lee.