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<font face="Verdana" size=3><br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3 color="#0000FF"><b>FROM:<br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3>AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL<br>
BILL QUIGLEY<br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3 color="#0000FF">*********<br>
*********<br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3>DATE: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 06:23:45 -0700
(PDT)<br>
FROM: bill quigley
<</font><font face="Verdana" size=3 color="#003399"><u>
duprestars@yahoo.com</u></font><font face="Verdana" size=3>><br><br>
</b>Dear Friends:<br><br>
Great news! Amnesty International has designated Fr. Jean-Juste as
a Prisoner of Conscience and asked for international action to be
brought. Here is their<br>
report and request for action. <br><br>
Please follow up on their requests for action! <br><br>
Peace, <br><br>
Bill Quigley<br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3 color="#0000FF"><b>*********<br>
*********<br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3>PUBLIC AI Index: AMR 36/008/2005
<br>
UA 195/05 Arbitrary arrest/prisoner of conscience <br>
25 July 2005 <br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3 color="#003399"><u>
<a href="http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR360082005?open&of=ENG-HTI">
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR360082005?open&of=ENG-HTI</a>
<br><br>
</u></font><font face="Verdana" size=3 color="#0000FF">HAITI Gérard
Jean-Juste (m), aged 59, Catholic priest<br><br>
</b></font><font face="Verdana" size=3>Catholic priest Gérard Jean-Juste
was taken into custody at a police station "for his own
protection" on 21 July, after he was assaulted, but while he was at
the police station he was accused of murder. <br><br>
He was abroad at the time of the murder of which he has been accused, but
he is a prominent opponent of the government. Amnesty International
considers him a<br>
prisoner of conscience, detained solely because he has peacefully
exercised his right to freedom of expression. He risks spending a long
time in custody awaiting trial <br>
on apparently trumped-up charges. <br><br>
Rev. Jean-Juste has been an outspoken supporter of former president
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and critic of the present government, in his
sermons and in radio broadcasts. <br><br>
On 21 July he attended the funeral of journalist Jacques Roche, at a
church in the Pétionville suburb of the capital, Port-au-Prince. He was
assaulted and threatened by <br>
a mob outside the church, who said he was one of those responsible for
the violence that is sweeping the capital. He was taken to Pétionville
police station by officers from the Haitian police and the UN civilian
police force, CIVPOL. <br><br>
None of his attackers is known to have been detained. <br><br>
At the police station, officer Jean-Daniel Ulysse, from the Central
Command of the Judicial Police (Direction Centrale de la Police
Judiciaire, DCPJ) accused him of the murder of the journalist. Although
he was supposedly there simply for his own safety, he was locked up in a
cell at the police station with another 43 detainees. The following day
he was transferred to the National Penitentiary, where he is in solitary
confinement. According to his lawyer, he has reportedly been charged with
the murder of Jacques Roche. However, Rev. Jean-Juste and his lawyers
were not shown an arrest warrant or any other official statement of the
charges. He is one of dozens of Aristide supporters who have been
arbitrarily detained in this way. <br><br>
Journalist Jacques Roche was kidnapped on 10 July, and murdered when the
full ransom demanded was not paid. Rev. Jean-Juste was in the United
Sates at the time,<br>
returning from Miami on 15 July. <br><br>
Rev. Jean-Juste has been a target for government repression for some
time. On 13 October 2004, he was arrested by police without a warrant at
his church, Saint Claire's, in Port-au-Prince. A warrant issued on 18
October accused him of “plotting against the internal security of the
state.” He was released on 29 November, after <br>
six weeks in custody. When he flew in from Miami on 15 July, he was
stopped at Port-au-Prince airport, searched and questioned. He was
ordered to present himself to the judicial police on 18 July, and two
days later he was questioned by the investigating magistrate, regarding
the accusation leading to his October arrest. <br><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3 color="#0000FF"><b>BACKGROUND
INFORMATION<br><br>
</b></font><font face="Verdana" size=3>President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
was ousted on 29 February 2004, after an armed rebellion led by former
military officers took control of the whole country. The same day, a
US-led multinational force was deployed in Haiti, authorized by the UN
Security Council. An interim government was put in place in early March
with Gérard Latortue sworn in as Prime Minister. In June 2004, the UN
Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) was sent to assist the interim
government in securing the country, reforming the national police and
protecting human rights. Since October 2004, the violence has escalated,
particularly in the capital, where armed gangs, some of which allegedly
have political affiliations to Aristide's party, are responsible for
numerous killings and grave human rights abuses. <br><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3 color="#0000FF"><b>RECOMMENDED ACTION:
<br><br>
</b></font><font face="Verdana" size=3>Please send appeals to arrive as
quickly as possible, in French, English or your own language:<br><br>
<ul>
<li>expressing concern at the arrest and detention without formal charges
of Rev. Gérard Jean-Juste;
</ul>
<ul>
<li>pointing out that he appears to be a prisoner of conscience, detained
solely for the legitimate expression of his opinions, and urging the
authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally;
</ul>
<ul>
<li>calling on the authorities to put an end to the arbitrary detentions
that are prevalent throughout Haiti.
</ul><br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3 color="#0000FF"><b>APPEALS
TO:</b></font><font face="Verdana" size=3> <br><br>
<b>Prime Minister<br>
</b>Gérard Latortue <br>
Ministère de l'Intérieure, Villa d=Accueil, Delmas 60<br>
Musseau, Port-au-Prince, HAITI (W.I.)<br>
Fax: +509 298 3901<br><br>
<b>Salutation:</b> Monsieur le Premier Ministre/Dear Prime Minister
<br><br>
<br>
<b>Minister of Justice and Public Security</b> <br>
Me. Henri Dorléans<br>
Ministère de la Justice<br>
19 Ave. Charles Sumner, Port-au-Prince, Haiti (W.I.)<br>
Fax: +509 245 0474<br><br>
<b>Salutation:</b> Monsieur le Ministre/Dear Mr. Dorléans <br><br>
<br><br>
<b>General Director of the Haiti National Police <br>
</b>Mario Andresol <br>
Directeur Général de la Police Nationale d'Haïti<br>
Grand Quartier Générale la Police<br>
12 rue Oscar Pacot, Port-au-Prince, Haiti (W.I.)<br>
Fax: +509 245 7374<br><br>
<b>Salutation:</b> Monsieur le Ministre/Dear Mr. Andresol <br><br>
<br><br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3 color="#0000FF"><b>COPIES TO:<br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3>Special Representative of the UN
Secretary-General <br>
Juan Gabriel Valdés <br>
</b>United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti<br>
(MINUSTAH)<br>
385, Ave. John Brown, Bourdon, B.P. 557,<br>
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (W.I.)<br>
Fax: +509 244 3512<br>
Salutation: Monsieur le Représentant spécial/Dear<br>
Special Representative Valdés <br><br>
<b>Head of Human Rights Division<br>
Thierry Fagart<br>
</b>Human Rights Division, MINUSTAH<br>
385, Ave. John Brown, Bourdon, B.P. 557 <br>
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (W.I.)<br>
Fax: +509 244 9366<br>
+509 244 9367 <br><br>
<b>and to diplomatic representatives of Haiti accredited to your country.
<br><br>
<br>
</font><font face="Verdana" size=3 color="#0000FF">PLEASE SEND APPEALS
IMMEDIATELY.</b></font><font face="Verdana" size=3> <br><br>
Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if
sending appeals after 5 September 2005.</font> <br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">The Freedom Archives<br>
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San Francisco, CA 94110<br>
(415) 863-9977<br>
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