Prison incident in Saint-Marc prompts calls for thorough investigation

GONAIVES — Three weeks after the deadly unrest in Saint-Marc prison, which left at least 16 dead, 11 seriously injured (including three police officers), 10 escapes and extensive damage to seven cells, the human rights organization Fondasyon Je Klere (FJKL) has demanded a thorough investigation. FJKL is urging the General Inspectorate of the Haitian National Police (IGPNH) and the Directorate of Judicial Police (DCPJ) to conduct both administrative and criminal investigations to reveal the circumstances surrounding what it has called “the massacre” in Saint-Marc prison.

In a report published Tuesday, Fondasyon Je Klere (FJKL) disputed the official story of an escape attempt from the Saint-Marc civil prison, suggesting instead that the violence stemmed from a protest by inmates demanding food following a shortage caused by a prison guards’ strike. FJKL claimed that prisoners were murdered in their cells.

FJKL disputed the official account of the incident, which it described as an escape attempt. Instead, the organization argued that the violence was the result of a protest by prisoners demanding food after experiencing shortages due to a prison guard strike.

“There was no escape attempt. There was no intervention by an outside force to free prisoners, nor were there armed prisoners in the prison to confront the police,” the report said.

“When the situation calmed down, armed individuals, accompanied by government commissioner Venson François, who arrived at the scene, executed prisoners in their cells,” the organization said.

“The massacre committed on August 16, 2024 in the Saint-Marc prison is an abuse of

armed force to suppress a protest by starving prisoners through a wildcat strike by

prison guards to demand payment of their hazard bonuses,” FJKL wrote.

According to the human rights organization, the death toll may be higher than reported. Local sources speak of possibly 19 prisoners killed.

According to Saint-Marc police chief Jude Jean Chéry, the incident occurred early in the morning of August 16 when inmates, reportedly agitated by a prison guards’ strike over unpaid wages, seized the opportunity to overpower guards during their morning escort to the showers. The unrest quickly escalated into a violent confrontation, with parts of the prison going up in flames and several firearms disappearing.

“There was no escape attempt. There was no intervention by an outside force to free prisoners, nor were there armed prisoners in the prison to confront the police.”

Human rights organization Fondasyon Je Klere

During an interview with The Haitian Times, Commissioner Chéry confirmed details of the escape attempt and subsequent violence.

The incident is part of a broader pattern of instability in Haiti’s prison system, plagued by overcrowding and lengthy pretrial detentions. This is the third reported prison break in Haiti this year, following a significant incident in March at the National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince and the evasion at the central Croix-des-Bouquets prison, where gangs freed some 4,000 inmates.

Chery expressed support for an investigation into the incident, but rejected allegations of killings of inmates in the prison, stressing the need for clarity and transparency to address the underlying problems within the prison system.

The Saint Marc incident underscores longstanding security and operational problems in Haiti’s prisons, including overcrowding, poor conditions and possible corruption among prison staff. It continues to highlight a pattern of mass escapes and security failures across the country.

Like many other prisons in Haiti, Saint-Marc Prison is severely overcrowded, holding nearly 500 prisoners during the unrest. Conditions inside the prison are appalling, with many prisoners waiting long periods of time for trial due to the broken justice system. This overcrowding and lengthy pretrial detentions have likely fueled further desperation among prisoners.

In late 2014, the same prison in Saint-Marc experienced a significant breach of security and negligence, resulting in the escape of 34 prisoners. An inmate smuggled a hacksaw into the prison, which was used to cut through the bars. In addition, the sound of the sawing was masked by the prisoners beating drums for hours. This negligence points to the need for proper supervision and control within the prison. In the same year, 329 prisoners escaped from a newly built prison in Croix-des-Bouquets.

Saint-Marc prison is in even greater disarray and has been perpetually overcrowded, especially since 2004, when Gonaïves prison, once the largest detention center in the Artibonite department, was destroyed during the uprising against former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Calls to rebuild the department’s largest prison center have yet to be answered. The ongoing challenges underscore the urgent need for reform and investment in Haiti’s prison infrastructure.

The story Saint-Marc prison incident prompts calls for thorough investigation first appeared on The Haitian Times.

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Prison incident in Saint-Marc prompts call for thorough investigation was first posted on September 6, 2024 at 9:45 am.