Port-au-Prince, October 2 (Prensa Latina) Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry today recognized the urgency of strengthening the work of the courts to end impunity and prolonged preventive detention, which affects eight out of ten prisoners .
Referring to the ceremony marking the resumption of judicial activity in the courts and tribunals, Henry acknowledged the “alarming scale” of these phenomena, which leave room for arbitrary practices.
Despite efforts to alleviate this serious problem, the number of long-term preventive detentions remains too high, said the head of government.
He also encouraged lawyers to respect the ethical and deontological principles that characterize the practice of their profession, while calling on them to make the necessary daily efforts so that justice prevails.
“I remind you that the rule of law that we all dream of will not see the light of day without a strong, balanced, fair and impartial judiciary that meets the needs of the Haitian nation,” the Prime Minister stressed.
He assured that he is counting on everyone to contribute, at whatever level, so that the population regains confidence in the justice system and, even better, so that no one is tempted to take justice into their own hands.
This is in connection with the Bwa Kale movement, launched at the end of April this year, which has already lynched hundreds of suspected gang members, most of them in this capital and other departments such as Artibonite, located northwest of Port-au-Prince.
The past judicial year was marked by repeated strikes by judicial staff, which paralyzed work in courts and tribunals for months.
Furthermore, poor progress in core investigations such as the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and other notorious cases reinforces the impunity of perpetrators.
npg/ane