Amnesty International has issued a report, Punished for being poor: unjustified, excessive and prolonged pre-trial detention in Madagascar’, which documents how an excessive number of people across the country have been placed in pretrial detention which often lasts for years. They have not been tried and most report how they have not seen a lawyer. This situation has resulted in severe overcrowding which, coupled with lack of food and medical care and unhygienic facilities, is damaging the health of detainees and putting lives at risk.
