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Date: Tue, 3 May 2005 09:06:57 -0700 (PDT)<br>
From: Haiti Action Committee <haitiaction@yahoo.com><br>
Subject: HAITI ACTION ALERT: Demand the Release of Yvon Neptune<br><br>
<br>
May 3, 2005<br><br>
Political prisoner Yvon Neptune, Haiti's last<br>
constitutional Prime Minister,<br>
lies on the verge of death from a hunger strike,<br>
initiated because the de facto Haitian coup government<br>
has jailed him for 10 months without formal charges,<br>
in violation of Haiti's constitution. The National<br>
Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR), a widely<br>
discredited, USAID funded anti-Aristide group, has<br>
accused Neptune of participation in a massacre in the<br>
city of St. Marc in February 2004, but the illegal<br>
coup government has never offered any proof the<br>
massacre actually took place, and U.N. independent<br>
expert on human rights Louis Joinet recently dismissed<br>
accounts of the massacre.<br><br>
<br>
Neptune has vowed to continue his hunger strike until<br>
he is either charged or released. The illegal<br>
"interim" regime of Gerard Latortue could easily meet<br>
this demand, but refuses. They should therefore<br>
concede they have no real case against Neptune and<br>
release him from prison.<br><br>
Though recent news reports indicate the Latortue<br>
government may fly Neptune<br>
out of the country, Neptune has long insisted he has<br>
no desire to leave<br>
Haiti. He wants to either face an honest legal process<br>
or be released.<br><br>
On May 1, Marguerite Laurent of the Haitian Lawyers'<br>
Leadership Network, who<br>
visited Neptune in March 2005, and spoke with his<br>
family over the weekend,<br>
wrote, "Mr. Neptune's family stresses that Yvon<br>
Neptune would never go into<br>
exile; that he has repeatedly maintained this<br>
position: That he is an<br>
innocent man, wrongfully accused of a massacre that<br>
the UN, the international press and reputable human<br>
rights organizations say did not happen [...] he will<br>
not leave prison unless a judge has signed his<br>
liberation order and acknowledged his innocence of all<br>
crimes."<br><br>
Please contact Kofi Annan and UN Human Rights<br>
Representative in Haiti<br>
Mahamane Cisse-Guoro and tell them that they must<br>
direct the coup government<br>
to finally release Neptune.<br><br>
<br><br>
Hon. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General<br>
United Nations<br>
United Nations Headquarters<br>
First Avenue at 46th Street<br>
New York, NY 10017<br>
212-963-5012<br>
inquiries@un.org<br>
Fax No. (212) 963-4879<br><br>
Mahamane Cisse-Guoro , UN Human Rights Office in Haiti<br>
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH)<br>
<mcissegouro@undp.org><br>
cisse-gouro@un.org<br>
PHONE: 011.509.244.9650.9660<br>
FAX: 011.509.244.9366/67<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
background, from May 2 Institute for Justice and<br>
Democracy in Haiti<br>
(ijdh.org) action alert<br><br>
Yvon Neptune Ill, But Refuses to Leave Haiti Without<br>
Justice<br>
Human Rights Group Denounces Unconstitutional Plan to<br>
Send an Unconscious<br>
Neptune Into Exile<br><br>
<br>
Political prisoner Yvon Neptune, seriously ill and on<br>
day 16 of a hunger<br>
strike, remains incarcerated in Haiti despite<br>
persistent reports in the<br>
Haitian and international press that he has been flown<br>
out of the country.<br>
Mr. Neptune, Haiti's last constitutional Prime<br>
Minister, has insisted for<br>
months that he will not leave the prison until the<br>
Interim Haitian<br>
Government either tries him for the allegations<br>
against him or drops the<br>
charges. The interim government is seeking to defuse<br>
criticism of its<br>
political prisoner policies by forcing Mr. Neptune to<br>
leave the country<br>
without going to court. The Group for the Defense of<br>
the Rights of<br>
Political Prisoners (GDP), a Haitian human rights<br>
organization, reports that<br>
the government plans to wait until Mr. Neptune loses<br>
consciousness, then<br>
transport him out of the country.<br><br>
On Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1, several media<br>
outlets, including<br>
the Associated Press, ABC News and Radio Kiskeya in<br>
Haiti reported that Mr.<br>
Neptune was about to leave or had already left. Those<br>
reports, based on<br>
sources within the Haitian government and a foreign<br>
embassy, were not true.<br>
As of 2 PM Monday, May 2 (Haiti time), Mr. Neptune<br>
remains in prison.<br><br>
Yvon Neptune has been in prison since June 2004, when<br>
he turned himself into<br>
police after hearing a radio announcement of a warrant<br>
for his arrest. He<br>
has never been brought before the judge in his case,<br>
despite a<br>
constitutional requirement of a hearing within 48<br>
hours. Mr. Neptune has<br>
received several death threats, and at least three<br>
assassination plots have<br>
been reported against him.<br><br>
Human rights groups, including the GDP and Amnesty<br>
International, world<br>
leaders like UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and<br>
religious leaders like<br>
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton and Rev. Gerard Jean-Juste<br>
have called for Mr.<br>
Neptune's release or trial. On April 19, a team of<br>
lawyers from the Bureau<br>
des Avocats Internationaux, the Institute for Justice<br>
& Democracy in Haiti<br>
and the Hastings Human Rights Project for Haiti filed<br>
a complaint before the<br>
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Neptune's<br>
behalf (see<br>
<a href="http://www.ijdh.org/articles/article_recent_news_april-4-19-05.htm" eudora="autourl">
http://www.ijdh.org/articles/article_recent_news_april-4-19-05.htm</a>
).<br><br>
For months, Mr. Neptune has insisted that he will not<br>
leave until the<br>
government brings his case to trial or admits that the<br>
charges were without<br>
foundation. In February, he even voluntarily returned<br>
to the prison after<br>
he was removed at gunpoint during a prison break. <br>
Over the weekend, his<br>
family members reiterated that he refuses to leave<br>
Haiti without seeing<br>
justice done. <br><br>
Haiti's interim government attempted to deflect the<br>
growing international<br>
pressure for Neptune's release by offering to fly him<br>
to the Dominican<br>
Republic over the weekend for treatment. Neptune,<br>
refused, once again<br>
insisting on justice, not an easy escape for either<br>
himself or the interim<br>
government.<br><br>
According to Ronald Saint-Jean, the Secretary-General<br>
of the Group for the<br>
Defense of the Rights of Political Prisoners (GDP),<br>
government sources<br>
indicate that the authorities plan to wait until Mr.<br>
Neptune loses<br>
consciousness, then transport him out of the country. <br>
Mr. Saint-Jean, and<br>
GPD's lawyer, Mario Joseph of the Bureau des Avocats<br>
Internationaux,<br>
"energetically protest against this cynical and<br>
criminal measure." They<br>
note the irony that the government can quickly arrange<br>
transport to a<br>
hospital in the Dominican Republic, but could not<br>
transport Mr. Neptune<br>
before a judge in over 10 months.<br><br>
Saint-Jean and Joseph note that Neptune's forced exile<br>
would be yet another<br>
violation of his constitutional rights, as Article 41<br>
states clearly that<br>
"no Haitian National can be deported or forced to<br>
leave the national<br>
territory for any reason whatsoever."<br><br>
For more information:<br><br>
Groupe de Defense des Droits Des Prisonniers<br>
Politiques, Ronald Saint-Jean,<br>
Secretary-General: 509-244-1254, 509-588-7550 (Haiti)<br><br>
Bureau des Avocats Internationaux, Mario Joseph,<br>
Managing Lawyer:<br>
509-554-4284, 509-221-8686 (Haiti)<br><br>
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, Brian<br>
Concannon Jr., Director:<br>
541-432-0597 (USA), BrianHaiti@aol.com,
<a href="http://www.ijdh.org/" eudora="autourl">www.ijdh.org<br>
</a>(background information<br>
on Yvon Neptune's case, including the complaint filed<br>
before the<br>
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.<br><br>
Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network, Marguerite Laurent<br>
(spoke with Neptune<br>
family members over the weekend),<br>
<a href="http://www.margueritelaurent.com/" eudora="autourl">
www.margueritelaurent.com<br><br>
<br>
</a>___________<br>
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