[News] Haiti: murders of prisoners
News at freedomarchives.org
News at freedomarchives.org
Tue Dec 7 11:18:00 EST 2004
The GDP claims that as many as 100 detainees were killed at the National
Penitentiary: Ronald Saint-Jean calls on MINUSTAH to investigate the tragedy
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port-au-Prince, December 6, 2004 (AHP)- The Group to Defend the Rights of
Political Prisoners (GDP) declared Monday that the December 1st massacre at
the National Penitentiary is part of a plan to murder the political
prisoners who are being imprisoned at the country's largest detention
facility.
It is still impossible to know how many prisoners were killed by APENA
officers.
Some sources have assessed the death toll at seven while others have stated
that more than 15 detainees were killed.
The coordinator of GDP, however, said he has information indicating that
more than 100 people were killed.
"Prisoners continue to succumb to their gunshot injuries because they were
not brought to the General Hospital", he said.
Ronald St Jean expressed doubts as to the capacity of the National Police
to conduct a serious investigation into this incident. he asked MINUSTAH to
become involved.
The GDP director criticized the approach taken by the National Coalition
for Haitian Rights (NCHR) in this case and continued to call for the
release of all political prisoners.
He announced that a sit-in will be held in front of the National
Penitentiary on Tuesday, December 7, to draw the attention of the
international community to the situation of the political prisoners.
For their part, the wives of five of the political prisoners, including the
spouse of former Cité Soleil Mayor Fritz Joseph and wife of the former
government delegate in the South, Jacques Mathelier, declared that
government prosecutor Sony Marcellus is upset at them because of their
statements relating to the cases of the political prisoners.
These women are demanding the release of their husbands and stressed that
what worries them most is that prisoners are being moved repeatedly from
one prison to another without explanation.
For its part, the Platform of Haitian Human Rights Organizations (POHDH)
denounced the killings perpetrated at the National Penitentiary.
One of the coordinators of the POHDH, Maxime Rony, asked APENA officials to
provide a full accounting of what took place in this massacre.
According to Mr. Rony, only an independent investigation can help determine
the exact number of prisoners who were killed.
AHP December 6, 2004 12:35 PM
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