Gehaftete

Gehaftete is a German term derived from the verb gehaften, meaning to be held in custody or detained by authorities. The form gehaftete is primarily the past participle used as an adjective and, in some contexts, as a substantive noun. As an attributive adjective, it describes individuals or groups who are in detention, for example gehaftete Personen, meaning detainees. When used as a noun, Gehaftete (capitalized) refers to detainees as a group.

In legal and historical contexts, gehaftete can denote persons under various forms of confinement, particularly detention outside of a formal conviction. Specific forms of confinement have separate terms in German, such as Untersuchungshaft for pretrial detention; Haft or Inhaftierung for broader detention concepts. Related phrases include die in Haft befindlichen Personen (persons in custody).

Gehaftete is more common in formal or historical writings and is less frequently used in everyday speech. In English, the closest translations are detainees or persons in custody. It is important to distinguish gehaftete from related terms like verhaftete (arrested) or inhaftierte (incarcerated), which refer to different legal statuses or stages of confinement.