Me Jean Wilner Morin, the Protector of Citizens, conducted a tour from January 8 to 10, 2025 in the North department, during which he visited the Court of First Instance of Cap-Haitien, the Peace Court of the North section, the prison of Cap-Haitien and the administrative complex of Vaudreuil, to inquire about the progress of certain projects currently being implemented, the humanitarian aspect of the prison centers and the social proximity of the Office of Protection of Citizens (OPC). During his tour, the Ombudsman took the opportunity to meet with partners in the framework of the "Poto Mitan" Project currently underway, the objective of which is to provide unidentified citizens with identity documents such as: birth certificate, electoral card, extract from archives, corrective judgment of birth certificates, etc...

Me Jean Wilner Morinn took the opportunity to announce the permanence at the level of each departmental directorate in order to allow any citizen in need or in need of assistance in matters of human rights to access the Office's service in real time.

It should also be noted that the focal point of his visit was mainly the Cap prison. Given the overcrowding, this prison, whose capacity is intended for less than 500 prisoners, currently has 912 inmates (865 men, 39 women and 8 minors), is on the verge of a health disaster (acute malnutrition, tuberculosis, anemia and other diseases, etc...) In this prison, prisoners live in a physical environment that is almost inhuman and unsanitary.

Out of 912 detainees, only 119 men, 39 women and 1 minor have been convicted and 753 are in prolonged pretrial detention. Detainees in violation of the law, sometimes for minor offenses, who can be detained for several years without being judged.

Prolonged pretrial detention is the rule in Cap-Haitien.

HL/ S/ HaitiLibre