Jean-Francois Vezina, spokesman for the UNPOL confirmed yesterday during a briefing of Misustah that Thursday, September 9, the Government Commissioner in Port-au-Prince had launched an initiative to the civil prison for Women of Petion-Ville to reconstitute the court records of all women prisoners.

Thanks to the work of the substitutes and legal assistants on the spot, and with the support of the Sections Justice, Human rights and Correction of Minustah, the records of judicial follow-up of 234 women and 19 minors have been well established. These records will be sent to the prosecutor to be completed quickly and allocated to substitutes in charge of monitoring and urging the judiciary to decide such cases pending.

Hope for these minor women and these young girls who stagnate under inhuman conditions on standby of a judgment, since years for some, and often for minor infringements.

"Girls often arrive for misdemeanor offenses punishable by 3 to 6 months, but they often serve, without judgment, between 5-6 years in prison", said Mathieu Sherline 21 years, arrived at the prison at the age of 16 years "In 2005, I had problems with my brother who thought I was returning home too late. He led me to a police station to punish me for a moment, he said. For 5 years I'm locked up here".

Auguste Aristide, the Chief Public Prosecutor of Port-au-Prince had said in early July "is a gross injustice that is doing the Haitian women [...] We are aware of the situation, but there is a great disorder in the system, inmate records were not found, which prevents us from further hearings"

S/ HaitiLibre