The National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) has denounced the horrific conditions and degrading treatment in Haiti’s police stations and sub-stations, which have been illegally converted into detention centers.

Between April and May 2025, RNDDH monitored seven police stations and three sub-stations in Ouest Department, revealing severe overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and malnutrition.

Cells originally designed for temporary detention of up to 10 people now hold three times their capacity, with 289 detainees across monitored locations.

Detainees lack ventilation, natural light, and access to clean water, while rats and insects infest the cells. They receive no food or water from the state, relying on family visits, fellow inmates, or police officers who use their own salaries to buy food.

Haiti’s Constitution limits preventive detention to 48 hours, yet many detainees remain imprisoned for months or even years without trial.

The UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) reports that prisoners receive only one meal per day and have less than 0.24 square meters of space, leading to outbreaks of tuberculosis, scabies, and severe infections.

RNDDH urges authorities to review detainee cases immediately, transfer convicted individuals to functional prisons, and provide electricity, clean water, and sanitation supplies.

The organization also calls for the reopening of Pétion-Ville Civil Prison while damaged facilities are repaired.

IN THIS ARTICLE