Earlier this week, Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe chaired a virtual meeting with representatives of human rights organizations around the criteria for detainees to benefit from exceptional release measures to relieve congestion in prisons of the country, and fight against the phenomenon of prolonged preventive detention faced the evolution of Covid-19. To this end the Government on the instruction of President Moïse took a set of measures.

Additions will be proposed to take account in particular of the detention of minors. With regard to social reintegration, support measures will be taken in collaboration with all social and legal actors with a view to combating recidivism.

In addition, to ward off any discrepancy in the level of the presidential pardon granted by decree to 415 prisoners from 17 penitentiaries https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31101-haiti-politic-415-prisoners-pardoned-by-president-moise.html Jouthe announced vigilance measures to guarantee the impartiality of this act, in strict compliance with the laws and international conventions relating thereto.

List of criteria used to benefit from a release (for both sexes) :

• Having served at least 60% of their sentence;

• Being detained due to insolvency, weakness and/or administrative failings;

• Be over the age of 60;

• Suffering from a serious illness declared before the onset of the pandemic and confirmed by a medical certificate accepted by the Directorate of Penitentiary Administration;

• Being in pre-trial detention for at least 5 years for crimes other than kidnapping, rape, armed robbery, murder, trafficking in persons and illicit drug trafficking;

• Being in preventive detention for at least 2 years for attempted murder not committed with a firearm;

• Be in preventive detention for at least 1 year for criminal association, even if this offense is associated with another correctional offense other than the illegal possession of firearms or ammunition;

• Having committed offenses considered as minor and remaining in preventive detention beyond 6 months;

• Be a 6-month pregnant woman or breastfeeding a 6-month-old infant;

• Being a minor in detention for a correctional offense.

Download the presidential decree and the names of the 415 prisoners already pardoned (PDF) : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/grace-19-06-2020.pdf

HL/ HaitiLibre