AI on Haiti: Human Rights Violators must not be put in Power

[JohnLocke]

Convicted Human Rights Violators in Haiti Must Not Be Allowed Power, Amnesty International Urges

(New York) – Amnesty International (AI) is calling on the Multinational Interim Force (MIF) to take into custody immediately and bring before the Haitian justice system eight convicted or indicted human rights violators currently at large in Haiti. In a 13-page briefing paper released today, AI describes these perpetrators of human rights abuses—notably rebel leaders Louis Jodel Chamblain and Jean Pierre Baptiste ('Jean Tatoune')—and their crimes.
The organization is extremely concerned that international forces present in Haiti have permitted armed rebels, including leaders Chamblain and Baptiste, to circulate freely in Port-Au-Prince and effectively take control of part of it. AI also named the following men who have escaped from prison during the current crisis and are cause for concern: Jean-Claude Duperval; Hébert Valmond; Carl Dorelien; Jackson Joanis; Castera Cénafils; and Prosper Avril.
"Perpetrators of human rights abuses belong in jail, not free in Haiti's capital where they could mount reprisal attacks against the police, judicial officials, witnesses and human rights defenders who bravely helped bring them to justice in the first place," stated Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). "It is up to the MIF to ensure the safety of these courageous individuals."
The organization is also urging the MIF to guarantee that notorious human rights offenders with pending sentences for human rights convictions will not be given any prominent or influential roles in public life. Instead, they should be returned to prison; those perpetrators convicted in absentia should be held in custody until there is opportunity for a retrial under Haitian law.
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"The international community should bear in mind that any attempt to provide an amnesty for recent or past violations would be unacceptable and a violation of international human rights law," explained Eric Olson, Advocacy Director for the Americas for AIUSA.
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Read the rest here.