Poor sanitation and hygiene in overcrowded jails has forced Vanuatu to release 52 prisoners.
The home affairs minister, George Wells, is said to have acted on a recommendation by the police commissioner, in approving the release last week.
Mr Wells had made a public address on the 30th of July, in which he said he wouldn't release any more prisoners, because of increasing criminal activity.
Mr Wells hasn't been available for comment, but his adviser, Joe Carlo, outlines the reasons for the decision.
"The two prisons in Port Vila and one in Luganville are fairly congested with prisoners. The accommodation is much more than over-full, there's a problem with the sanitary conditions, hygienic conditions of the prisons."
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