[News] Haiti: murders of prisoners

[News at freedomarchives.org]

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
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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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