Haiti – FLASH: Bloody escape from Saint Marc prison

Haiti – FLASH: Bloody escape from Saint Marc prison
17.08.2024 09:36:28

Early on Friday, August 16, 2024, a mutiny broke out in Saint-Marc prison (Artibonite department) (90 km north of Port-au-Prince), reportedly sparked by the deplorable conditions of detention, including hunger and health problems. 15 inmates were killed while attempting to escape and others were injured, the number of which was not specified, according to prison officials. Only one police officer was injured in the foot, according to Me Venson François, the government commissioner.

An undetermined number of prisoners are on the run.

According to initial evidence and witness statements, the prisoners allegedly mutinied before 8:00 a.m. while taking a shower against the agents of the National Penitentiary Administration (APN), who disarmed them before vandalising and setting fire to, among other things, the administrative offices, archives, the infirmary and the prison staff dormitory, before opening the cells with a sledgehammer and then looting the arms and ammunition depot.

The police forces, informed of the situation, intervened immediately. For several hours, gunshots could be heard inside and outside the prison as the police pursued the escapees, some of whom were armed.

On Friday afternoon, Me Venson François confirmed that the situation was back under the control of the police authorities and stressed that the prison, which housed about 505 inmates (according to the public prosecutor's office of the judicial district of Saint-Marc), had suffered significant damage.

The state police have not yet publicly responded to this outbreak …

PI/ TB/ HaitiLibre