Haiti prison population rises; US aid ineffective, audit says

Published on May 03, 2007

By Neil Roland

WASHINGTON, USA (Bloomberg): Haiti’s prisons are swelling with people awaiting trial, and US aid aimed at alleviating the situation is having little impact, an audit said.

The number of prisoners has been climbing since February 2004, when jails were emptied upon the resignation of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The average time in pre-trial detention has risen from 76 days in September 2004 to 408 days in December 2006, said a report by the inspector general of the US Agency for International Development.

AID’s $3.7 million program to improve the flow of cases is insufficient, and monitoring by US officials has produced misleading, overly optimistic reports, said the 28-page report posted Wednesday on the agency’s Web site. (more…)