Dominican Republic officials cram thousands of inmates facing no charges into overcrowded prisons
A majority of inmates in the Dominican Republic languish in prison without ever having been charged with a crime, and activists warn they face inhuman conditions and a lack of medical care.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — They’re known as “frog men,” inmates who are forced to sleep on prison floors across the Dominican Republic, often next to overflowing toilets or holes in the ground that serve as one.
Thousands of them are crammed into the country’s severely overcrowded prisons, some operating at seven times their capacity. A majority languish there without ever having been charged with a crime, and activists warn they face inhuman conditions and a lack of medical care.
Despite promises to improve the system, critics say the Dominican Republic continues to push for and allow pretrial detentions in nearly all criminal cases where no charges have been filed and has made few changes as problems within prisons keep mounting.
“Prisons have become no man’s land,” said Rodolfo Valentín Santos, director of the Dominican Republic’s National Public Defense Office.
Over 60% of the country’s roughly 26,000 inmates are being held under preventive detention, without any charges, according to the National Public Defense Office. Proponents argue the measure aims to protect society and allows authorities time to collect evidence in a case.
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